Kurt Rambis and his wife Linda are powerful voices that impeded the Los Angeles Lakers’ hire of Ty Lue as head coach, according to a report.
FS1 personality Nick Wright reported on Wednesday that the Buss family and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka signed off on hiring Lue last week. However, he says the Rambises were against the hire and convinced the Lakers to hold off.
Source: The Buss family & Rob Pelinka signed off on hiring Ty Lue last week. Kurt & Linda Rambis were the only parties opposed, and convinced the Lakers to hold off, which lead to today.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) May 8, 2019
Wright’s report was echoed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who said Kurt Rambis is playing a major role in the search and has emerged as a powerful voice within the organization.
Lakers advisor Kurt Rambis is playing a major role in the franchise's coaching search, league sources tell ESPN. He's emerging as a powerful voice in basketball operations.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2019
Beyond Kurt Rambis, a former Lakers player and assistant coach, Linda Rambis has long been a trusted adviser to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss.
The Lakers initially were down to two finalists for their head coaching vacancy: Lue and Monty Williams. Williams took the Phoenix Suns job, and talks with Lue broke down on Wednesday because the team was unwilling to meet his contract desires.
The Rambises reasons for not being in favor of a Lue hire are unclear, but the Lakers reportedly have a number of other candidates they are now considering.
