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Will he stay or will he go?
That’s the question surrounding LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers after a first-round playoff exit.
James was non-commital when as about his future after a series-ending loss to the Denver Nuggets, but a pair of reported Lakers head coaching candidates suggest that James isn’t going anywhere.
The report comes from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, who made an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday morning.
At the 5:50 mark of the interview above, Patrick asks McMenamin if James could play a role in JJ Redick becoming the team’s next head coach.
“Well, certainly LeBron’s opinion is weight by (Lakers GM) Rob Pelinka when he goes about doing his business. He calls him a stakeholder,” McMenamin said. “But, that said, LeBron’s opinion was known back a couple years ago when LeBron wanted Ty Lue to be the head coach to replace Luke Walton. That didn’t happen.
“…JJ certainly is a real candidate if they do open up this coaching search. But there’s I’d say half a dozen folks out there. Including, possibly, the guy who just lost last night against the Mavericks in Tyronn Lue.”
Lue, McMenamin notes, still has one year left on his contract with the Clippers. And current Lakers head coach Darvin Ham technically still has a job (in the sense that I am technically a musician because I sing in the shower).
But both Lue, from his time in Cleveland where he won a championship coaching James, and Redick, who currently co-hosts a podcast with James, are close with the superstar.
If either ends up getting the gig, it seems like the clearest indication yet that James is happy to end his career playing for the Lakers.