LeBron James Sidelined in Lakers’ Coaching Search Despite Interest in JJ Redick

The Los Angeles Lakers’ next head coach will be chosen by the team’s front office and not LeBron James, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

‘I’m told LeBron James is not involved in the Lakers head coaching search,’ Charania told FanDuel TV host Michelle Beadle on Monday. ‘LeBron James has made it clear this is the organization’s decision.’

Under normal circumstances, it would go without saying that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and team owner Jeanie Buss would be picking Darvin Ham’s replacement after the former coach was let go following LA’s first-round defeat to the Denver Nggets.

However, James isn’t just any player. The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer has a reputation for influencing coaching hires, and whether that’s justified or not, the Lakers are reportedly interested in JJ Redick, the former Duke star and NBA sharpshooter, who happens to co-host a podcast with James himself.

Redick has no head-coaching or assistant-coaching experience. 

The Los Angeles Lakers’ next head coach will be chosen by the team’s front office and not LeBron James , according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania

Reddick smiles during the game between the Denver Nuggets and the LA Lakers on March 2

Charania did stress that James has not discussed his former NBA rival with the Lakers’ front office.

James is signed through next season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be back in LA in 2024-25.

With his son, Bronny, entering the draft, there is considerable speculation that the four-time league champion could use his leverage to force a trade to whomever picks his namesake next month.

However, Charania previously reported that James is not currently looking at forcing a trade in order to play with Bronny, although that could potentially change after the NBA Draft.

The Lakers are also considering NBA assistants such as Sam Cassell, Micah Nori, David Adelman and James Borrego, according to multiple reports.

James obviously has only a few seasons left at most if he wants to win a fifth title before retiring.

The following is an overview of the nine men who have coached the four-time MVP in the NBA: 

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 

• Paul Silas (2003-05): He was James’ first coach in the 2003-04 season and helped the first-year player win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. But Silas was let go 64 games into the 2005 season with the Cavaliers at 34-30.
• Brendan Malone (2005): He became interim coach after Silas was dismissed and went 8-10 with the team to miss out on the NBA playoffs.
• Mike Brown (2005-10): He led the Cavaliers to the playoffs in all five seasons with James on the roster, making it to the NBA Finals in their second season together in 2006-07. James was named NBA MVP in his final two seasons with Brown as coach. Brown was let go before James’ pending free agency in the summer of 2010.

MIAMI HEAT 

• Erik Spoelstra (2010-14): He led the Heat to the NBA Finals all four seasons coaching James, winning it all in 2012 and 2013. James won NBA MVP in both those seasons.
• David Blatt (2014-16): Blatt coached James in his return to Cleveland, losing in the NBA Finals to Golden State. Blatt was fired the next season with the team at 30-11. Then-GM David Griffin said at the time: ‘What I see is that we need to build a collective spirit, a strength of spirit, a collective will.’

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 

• Tyronn Lue (2016-18): Lue was promoted to take over for Blatt, and he led the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA title over the Warriors. Lue and James made two more trips to the Finals before James opted for free agency and ended his second term with Cleveland.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS 

• Luke Walton (2018-19): James was slowed by injuries and the Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 season at 37-45. Walton and the Lakers mutually agreed to part ways after the season.
• Frank Vogel (2019-22): Vogel and James had the Lakers at 49-14 and on top in the Western Conference before COVID-19 shut down the league. When games restarted, Los Angeles won the NBA championship. The team could not duplicate its success in Vogel’s final two years, advancing as a play-in team in 2021 and missing the playoffs in 2022. Vogel was fired after that season.
• Darvin Ham (2022-24): Ham and the Lakers started slowly in the first of two seasons together, before rallying as a seventh seed in the playoffs to reach the Western Conference finals. This past season, Los Angeles was knocked out in the opening round by defending champion Denver. The team announced Ham’s shortly after. ‘While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season,’ Pelinka said in a statement.

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