Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James “generally” does not get involved with his team’s hiring decisions, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said Tuesday on ESPN’s Dan Patrick Show.
Windhorst’s report comes amid rumors that the Lakers are considering hiring JJ Redick, who hosts a podcast with James, as the team’s next head coach.
“LeBron doesn’t get involved in coaching hires,” Windhorst said. “For years, for many, many coaches, he’s always taken a distance. In fact, and I can’t say this for every candidate, but he has a rule generally that he won’t engage with the 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.”
The Lakers are looking to replace former head coach Darvin Ham, who was fired last week after two seasons with the team.
“I know that there’s this belief that LeBron hires and fires all these coaches, and maybe he does hurt coaches because he sort of kills them with a thousand paper cuts, but LeBron is very sensitive to that, and he does not want to be involved in that,” Windhorst said.
“It’s not going to be like, he’s going to go into Rob Pelinka and say, ‘Hey, I’m having a great time with JJ, you should hire him.’ That’s just not reality.”
Even if James does not provide direct input on who the Lakers hire to replace Ham, it seems likely the team will keep his desires in mind as they campaign for James to return to Los Angeles.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick, James’ return is “of paramount importance” to the Lakers’ plan.
It is not yet clear if James will ever play another game in a Lakers uniform, however. He currently has a $51.42 player option for the 2024-25 season that he has yet to decide on, although Charania, Buha and Amick reported that Los Angeles is willing to offer him a maximum three-year extension instead.
The Lakers are also reportedly considering pursuing Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, another candidate with ties to James. Lue coached James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to the franchise’s first NBA title during the 2015-16 season.
Whether it’s by hiring a coach that has previously worked with James like Redick or Lue, or choosing a veteran with championship experience like other potential head coach candidate Mike Budenholzer, James will likely influence the decision whether or not he weighs in. After all, Lakers management will need to put the team on the best possible path toward title contention next season in order to encourage James to spend another season in Los Angeles.
