Right now, with the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly set to start interviewing head coaching candidates, multiple reports have indicated the favorite to land the job is JJ Redick.
While some believe Redick, who was a deadly 3-point shooter during his 15-year playing career, has the making of a great head coach, plenty are also disgusted at the mere idea of him being a candidate. He has virtually no coaching experience, and he is co-hosting the “Mind the Game” podcast with LeBron James, which has led many to believe he’s a candidate mostly because of his friendship with James.
But NBA insider Shams Charania says the superstar is keeping his distance from the Lakers when it comes to this head coaching search.
"I'm told LeBron James is not involved in the Lakers head coaching search…James has made it clear that this is the organization's decision, he's had no conversions with the Lakers about JJ Redick."@ShamsCharania on the #Lakers coaching search pic.twitter.com/4YbscRYII7
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 20, 2024
“I’m told LeBron James is not involved in the Lakers’ head coaching search,” Charania said. “I reported on it last week, JJ Redick, James Borrego and Sam Cassell are the lead initial targets. But LeBron James has made it clear, this is the organization’s decision. He’s had no conversations with the Lakers about JJ Redick, his podcast partner. He’s had no conversations with JJ about that position as well.
“I did speak to Rich Paul this morning and he said LeBron James and JJ Redick, they do a podcast together, that does not mean that he wants JJ Redick as his head coach. But he’s leaving it up to the organization, we’ll see what LeBron James decides for his future. Obviously I’m told he’s expected to play up to two more seasons. The bottom line with LeBron James is this: if he was making the decisions for the Lakers, Ty Lue would have been the head coach in 2019, Kyrie Irving would be his point guard if he was running the team and making the decisions.”
James can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer, something he’s widely expected to do, which will give him the opportunity to wield his leverage. How much he does so is a big question and could dictate a lot of the Lakers’ offseason choices.
