After firing former coach Darin Ham, the Lakers are already hard at work narrowing down the candidates for his replacement. According to NBA insider Brian Windhorst, LeBron James is unlikely to be involved and it follows a career-long trend for the 21-year veteran.
“LeBron doesn’t get involved in coaching hires,” said Windhorst. “For years, for many many coaches, he’s always taken a distance. In fact, he generally has a rule, that he won’t engage with a candidate. After the coach has been hired, of course, he’ll have a conversation with the coach.”
“Generally, he wants to stay out of it. He doesn’t want it on his hands. I know there’s this belief that LeBron hires and fires all these coaches. … But LeBron is very sensitive to that and he doesn’t want to be involved with that.”
(2:40 time stamp)
"LeBron's friendships in the NBA tend to fall out as quick as they start. There's a long line of former teammates that he was buddy buddy and when it's over they're gone."
–@WindhorstESPN on the possibility of JJ Redick becoming the #Lakers HC because of friendship w. LeBron pic.twitter.com/WhKsjJJ249
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 7, 2024
LeBron’s reputation portrays him as a GM of sorts for the Lakers and it’s no secret he has been at the forefront of roster changes before. With the Cavaliers, he pressured the front office to trade half the team before the deadline only to leave anyway the following summer. With the Lakers, LeBron campaigned for Russell Westbrook back in 2021 and it was a mistake they are still paying for to this day.
But when it comes to coaches, LeBron is completely hands-off and it does make sense given the sheer number of coaches that he’s gone through over the past two decades (including Mike brown with the Cavaliers and Frank Vogel with the Lakers). While Kobe and Michael had Phil Jackson, LeBron went from one coach to another and none of them really stuck around for more than a few years except for maybe Tyronn Lue, who coached LeBron for most of his second stint with the Cavaliers.
After a decent attempt, Darvin Ham is now the latest in a long line of failed Lakers coaches and it will be interesting to see if the team can find the right guy before LeBron’s career is over for good.
Los Angeles Lakers Have Big Decisions To Make
By all accounts, this summer is going to be a big one for the Lakers. After two failed playoff runs in a row, it’s clear that this team is on the decline and it remains to be seen how Rob Pelinka will respond.
The biggest question revolves around LeBron James and what his plans are with his basketball career. Whether he retires or follows his son, there is no guarantee that he will return to the Lakers next season and his status as a free agent means he has full control over where he ends up.
There’s also the situation with Anthony Davis. His health continues to be a major concern for the Lakers and many fans are wondering how many durable seasons he has left. if either Davis or LeBron is compromised next season, it’s going to be hard for this team to keep up in the West.
Obviously, the first order of business is finding a new coach to lead the locker room and while nobody will agree on who the right man is for the job, most would argue that they need someone experienced to take over and establish order. Names like Phil Handy, Mike Budenholzer, and Jj Redick have all been mentioned but the final decision still feels a long way off.
No matter what happens, LeBron is letting the Lakers do their own thing and who they decide to bring in next is going to be very telling about how they view the current state of their team, and if they make a mistake like this again it could have drastic consequences on their long-term future.
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