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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James could become an unrestricted free agent this summer, an opt-out he will likely exercise to get a bigger deal as his career winds down. But, the odds of him re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers seem to have shot up significantly as it appears that the Lakers have zeroed on in a head coach.
The team fired the oft-criticized Darvin Ham following their first-round playoff exit to the Denver Nuggets. Now, it looks like they’re about to hire former NBA shooting guard and current ESPN analyst and podcaster JJ Redick.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania is reporting that the team is zeroing in on JJ Redick as the next head coach of one of the league’s most storied franchises.
LeBron James and JJ Redick launched a podcast together, titled “Mind The Game” back in March. The podcast has taken off, too, instantly becoming one of the biggest in all of sports.
It does seem almost too good to be true that LeBron James starts a podcast with JJ Redick and just a few months later, he’s hired as the coach of LeBron James’s team. You don’t think that the two had discussed the job before it came open? Seems unlikely.
Fair or unfair, LeBron has a reputation as a coach killer. This will be his tenth head coach in his 22nd season in the NBA. It seems hard to believe at this stage, especially with rumors swirling that he wants to play with his 2024 draft-eligible son Bronny, that he didn’t have some hand in this.
That being said, arguably the league’s second-greatest player ever may have earned that right in his career. After all, if he were to leave in free agency, the Lakers would be drawing dead for the foreseeable future.
James will start his 22nd season in the NBA in October.