Throughout his career, LeBron James has garnered the reputation of a superstar player who has major influence over the decisions his team makes. Whether it is with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat or Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron has almost always seemed to have a hand, or at least make his desires known, about signings or trades he wants the franchise to make.
Now, with the Lakers looking for their next head coach, it would make sense that James would be very interested in who the franchise is looking at bringing in, especially with one of the candidates being LeBron’s podcast co-host JJ Redick. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” LeBron is not involved at all with the Lakers’ head coach search and has had no conversations with Redick about the position either:
“I’m told LeBron James is not involved in the Lakers’ head coaching search. 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.”
With his career winding down and LeBron still wanting to compete for a championship, it wouldn’t be farfetched to think he would have a high interest on who would be the Lakers’ next head coach. But all signs are pointing towards the opposite.
James still has some big decisions to make this summer and while he is likely to continue his playing career, nothing is for certain just yet. In fact, it is still not a guarantee that LeBron returns to the Lakers, though it remains highly likely he finishes his career in the purple and gold.
Nonetheless, it looks as if the Lakers will make the decision on their next head coach without any influence from the face of the franchise.
Lakers coaching hire more about Anthony Davis than LeBron James?
As Charania pointed out, LeBron James is likely to play only two more seasons at most. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ other superstar, Anthony Davis, is in the prime of his career. As such there is some belief that the Lakers’ head coaching hire should be more about him than LeBron.
One recent report quoted a source echoing that thought, with Davis needing to be the focal point of the search for the Lakers next coach. The report added that the whoever the Lakers hire will need to lead the franchise after LeBron is gone as well, so getting the most out of Davis should be a priority.
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