Sources from every corner of the internet announced that the Lakers signed JJ Redick, who played in the NBA for 15 years, to a four-year deal last Thursday, providing him with his first league coaching job in any capacity. Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: did LeBron James play a part in the signing of the former player?
According to many reports, the oldest athlete in the NBA was uninvolved in the hiring process of the purple and gold’s new tactician, as the superstar had “no conversation” with the franchise’s front office regarding this decision.
“There was no conversation between LeBron James and Jeanie Buss or Rob Pelinka or Kurt Rambis or anybody else when it comes to the Lakers’ decision-makers about JJ Redick as a candidate, about Dan Hurley as a candidate, about anybody else as a candidate,” said Dave McMenamin said on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
BREAKING: LeBron James and JJ Redick are coming out with their own podcast “Mind The Game” and it drops tomorrow. 🔥
🎥🎥🎥 pic.twitter.com/718aIiOK2G
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) March 18, 2024
The insider said that the forward purposely shut himself out of the conversation. “He stayed out of this process, he let the Lakers know through his representatives that the team and the organization has to do what they feel is right for them in this moment and going forward, because odds are, the person that they hire will be with the Lakers beyond LeBron James’ days as a player,” he insisted.
However, McMenamin did say that the star’s lack of involvement in this process somehow represented his stamp of approval of the team’s decision. “Now that said, there was a tacit endorsement for JJ Redick because he decided to do the Mind the Game podcast with him,” the insider expressed.
It seems that JJ’s hiring is seen with optimistic eyes around the Los Angeles locker room, as co-star Austin Reaves also had a say about his new head coach. According to the young guard, the former sport analyst is a “basketball genius.”
“I’ve gotten to know JJ a little bit, going on his podcast during the middle of the year,” the Lakers player recently told Cierra Clark of Arkansas’ THV11. “He’s a basketball genius, I think as everybody knows, and I think he’s gonna make a good coach and I can’t wait to get to work with him.”
According to Reaves, he’s already received a text from his new coach asking him to have his first official meeting with the entire group
If there was still any doubt about the veracity of Redick’s hiring, his pupil Austin Reaves has confirmed the news by revealing that his coach has already sent him a message this weekend with a request to “get on a call.”
“I just can’t wait to put our brains together, and go and have a good year,” the Lakers player said, even though the Los Angeles club had originally pursued UConn head coach Dan Hurley, who rejected the purple and gold’s proposal of a six-year, $70 million deal.
Even though Redick wasn’t the Lakers’ first choice, many insiders around the league like Shams Charania and Amick Buha have reported that Anthony Davis and “other key players were supportive of the hiring.”
After joining the new coach’s podcast not too long ago, Reaves seems to be one of those players who supported the front office’s decision. “You got some s–t to you… you’re naturally an assh–e,” Redick said back in December about Austin’s playing style. As Reaves agreed, the host then added: “Just so you know, when I refer to someone as an assh–e, it’s a good thing. It’s the highest praise.”
