Sources: LSU working to lure Wade back before firing McMahon - ESPN

LSU's clumsy courtship to bring back coach Will Wade is in the final stages, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The school is working to finalize a deal to return Wade, the current coach at NC State, who was suspended for the 2019 NCAA tournament while at LSU and later fired amid an NCAA probe that left the program with significant sanctions.

LSU's courtship of Wade, which has been reported widely in recent days, has all played out before the school has fired coach Matt McMahon. It had been widely speculated on for months, as Wade publicly pledged his loyalty to NC State as recently as the ACC tournament when asked about LSU.

The dominoes that needed to fall for Wade to return start in the governor's offices. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who was outspoken during the firing of football coach Brian Kelly this fall, maintains a strong relationship with Wade.

The first domino for Wade's return came when LSU fired former athletic director Scott Woodward last fall, as part of Woodward's fallout with Landry stemmed from not firing McMahon and bringing back Wade last year.

The next domino was the hiring of LSU president Wade Rousse, who hired Wade at McNeese in the aftermath of Wade's NCAA issues. Rousse came to LSU in November, and hired McNeese AD Heath Schroyer this week, who is close to Wade.

For months in the basketball landscape, rumblings of a reunion of Rousse, Schroyer and Wade loomed, as all three are closely aligned with Landry.

In one of the most awkward recent moments in college athletics, all of this has played out publicly while McMahon still has a job. It's not clear when LSU plans to fire him.

It also leaves NC State's administration vulnerable for criticism, as its hiring of Wade came with the obvious risk that