As the 2018-19 NBA season comes to an end, it appears to be a matter of not if, but when the Los Angeles Lakers will begin their search for a new head coach.
But even though, according to The Athletic, Tyronn Lue reached out to Luke Walton to assure him he isn't actively pursuing the job he currently occupies, that doesn't mean the former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach won't ultimately succeed the current one.
In fact, according to one sportsbook, it's the most likely outcome.
With just four games remaining in the Lakers' disappointing 2018-19 campaign, BetOnline.ag has released its odds for who will be Los Angeles' head coach for the team's first game next season. Lue -- who coached Lakers star LeBron James for the previous three seasons in Cleveland -- leads the way at +333, meaning a successful $100 wager would return $333.
Lue is followed by James' former Team USA teammate, Jason Kidd (+350), Mark Jackson (+500), Walton being retained (+600), Frank Vogel (+700), Kevin McHale (+700), Tom Thibodeau (+700) and Juwan Howard (+800). Two long shots are also listed, with current Lakers team president Magic Johnson and former Los Angeles head coach Phil Jackson each being given +3300 odds.
While typically, any job coaching James would be considered one of the most desirable in sports, the Lakers' current situation also possesses plenty of baggage. Despite signing arguably the best in the world last summer, Los Angeles will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year and currently lays claim to a 35-43 record with James having been shutdown for the remainder of the season.
Of course, it doesn't take much for a paradigm in the NBA to shift and it's worth noting that the Lakers will enter the upcoming offseason with enough cap space to sign a max salary free agent to pair next to James. Plus, if there's anybody who knows about facing lofty expectations in Los Angeles, it's Lue, who won a pair of NBA titles while playing point guard for the Lakers in 2000 and 2001.
Following his 12-year playing career, the Mexico, Missouri, native entered the coaching ranks, spending time as an assistant on Doc Rivers' staffs with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers. In 2014 -- the same year James returned to Cleveland -- Lue joined David Blatt's staff with the Cavs and ultimately became the team's head coach following Blatt's firing in 2016.
Over the course of four seasons with the Cavs, Lue led the team to a 128-83 regular season record, 41-20 postseason record, three consecutive NBA Finals and won the first championship in franchise history in 2016. After Lue was fired following the Cavs' 0-6 start to the 2018-19 season, James spoke fondly of his former head coach.
"I had three-and-a-half great years with Coach Lue and that team that we were able to put together," James told reporters. "He put us in position to win, he put us in position to succeed and more importantly, he gave all the onus on the players. He gave us the responsibility to go out and do what we needed to do to win ball games. And that led us to, while he was at the helm, three Eastern Conference Finals, three [NBA] Finals, one championship. I got nothing but good stuff to talk about with T. Lue."