Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James apparently had no role in the decision to hire JJ Redick as head coach. It’s somewhat surprising, given his practical approach in the past.
But King James wanted the Lakers to do what was best for the organization in the long run. That is, once he ends up retiring.
The obvious backdrop here is James’ contract option for next season. He’ll almost certainly decline said option and could hit NBA free agency. While James is likely to return to the Lakers, it’s no secret that he’s pushing to improve a roster that isn’t championship-caliber.
During his introductory press conference, Redick was asked about his stance on the Lakers’ roster. He firmly believes that they are not far away from being able to compete for a championship.
Apparently, this didn’t sit well with either James or fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick had this to convey on Jovan Buha’s recent podcast on Tuesday. It’s some pretty interesting stuff.
“My understanding is that they (James, Davis) seem to see it differently,” Amick said. “They just want to know that the franchise is pushing as hard as possible to accomplish something.”
The central focus of the conversation was Donovan Mitchell, Dejounte Murray, Mikal Bridges and Zach LaVine, as specific players mentioned that James could be pushing. Now that Bridges is headed to the New York Knicks, he is no longer an option.
But the general point remains.
Related: LeBron James’ agent tries to silence rumors that he will leave this summer
Could we already be seeing a split between LeBron James and JJ Redick in Los Angeles?
Credit: David Richard-KeynoteUSA Sports
Let’s put this into perspective. Redick has been in the media since he retired from the NBA in 2021. He knows how to play. Showing desperation with NBA free agency and the start of the offseason is not the best move.
But his words were quite clear during Monday’s introductory press conference.
“I don’t consider the current roster to be that far away from a championship-caliber team,” Redick told reporters.
Los Angeles exited the NBA Play-In tournament last season, only to lose to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
Aside from James and Davis, there isn’t much on this list. D’Angelo Russell struggled with consistency. He is also potentially set to leave in free agency. Austin Reaves saw a drop in production from what was a great 2022-23 campaign. New additions Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish and Christian Wood did very little of substance.
Regardless of what Redick said in his press conference, Lakers management must believe an improvement is needed this summer. Finding help on defense in the form of a third star would be the ideal scenario.
It is in this that the Lakers continue to be linked with some of the biggest names on the trading block. They have Reaves, multiple first-round picks and salary fillers to help facilitate a trade.
Whether general manager Rob Pelinka and company decide to go for King James remains to be seen. Los Angeles officials had opted against this at each of the last two NBA trade deadlines during the season.
A continuation of this thought process could lead to further division between LeBron and the Lakers. It’s not great that James boasts about having the ability to hit NBA free agency and potentially flee to another situation.
On the other hand, James is a veteran. He knows exactly how to play this game of influence. Don’t think for a second that leaks to the media are not part of this game.
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