Stephen A. Smith goes all-in on ripping the Lakers for coaching search, LeBron James trade rumors
It’s a troubling time in the land of the Los Angeles Lakers.
They thought they found their next head coach in Tyronn Lue only to have talks end Wednesday when contract demands weren’t met. Lue was reportedly OK with the Lakers’ front office picking his staff, but wanted a five-year contract rather than a three-year one that expired in line with that of LeBron James.
As one would expect, Twitter had a field day with the news.
As one would also expect, so did ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
Smith got deep into it Thursday on “Get Up” and held nothing back — not even his voice, which reached screeching levels by the time his three minutes was over.
The trade rumors surrounding LeBron James explained by @stephenasmith the only way he knows how. 😂 pic.twitter.com/x9Ypv4vd3j
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 9, 2019
Quotes do Smith no justice in this case, but here are the highlights.
On what James is thinking:
“He’s going to hesitate. He’s going to be reluctant to tell you what he feels. No. 1 because he wants to control the narrative. No. 2 because ‘The Shop,’ the latest edition of [his HBO show] ‘The Shop’ hasn’t taken place. So God forbid he’ll tell the media — he’ll be the media and tell you what he wants to tell you.”
The next episode of James show is set to air Friday.
On the chance of trading James:
“For all of those out there who would debunk such a theory [the Lakers would trade James], who would sit up there and render it utter nonsense I would ask you a very simple yet rhetorical question. Tell me what has make sense about the Lakers over the last several years? Tell me what!”
Smith continued with a furious fly-by on the executive dysfunction that includes the Buss family drama and Magic Johnson “quitting” on the team last month.
Rambis connections break Smith
The part that broke Smith and sent him high into the octave range:
“All of the sudden you’re hearing the name Linda Rambis. I know Kurt Rambis. I didn’t know anything about Linda Rambis other than the fact that she was Jeanie’s [Buss] best friend two weeks ago. And now you have her influencing basketball decisions. You can’t make this up. You can’t make it up!”
Kurt Rambis is a former Lakers player and coach who currently serves as a senior adviser. His wife, Linda, is listed as an executive director of special projects. She is a trusted confident and adviser to team owner Jeanie Buss and has been characterized in recent weeks as a “shadow owner” for her shy best friend, per ESPN reports.
The Rambis couple has had a significant role in the process of hiring a new coach, sources told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, and overruled the Buss family’s decision to hire Lue, per reports.
So, yeah, Stephen A. Smith has a point.
The Lakers interviewed Monty Williams before he agreed to become the Phoenix Suns next head coach. They’re now looking at Lionel Hollins, Frank Vogel and Mike Woodson as candidates to become their coach.
More from Yahoo Sports:
