Lakers Fans Rejoice, Dream of LeBron James-JJ Redick Pairing After Firing Darvin Ham
The Los Angeles Lakers announced Friday that they parted ways with head coach Darvin Ham after two seasons at the helm, eliciting a positive reaction from fans of the purple and gold.
Although Ham led the Lakers to back-to-back playoff appearances, and they reached the Western Conference Finals in 2023, they largely disappointed during the regular season and twice had to go through the postseason play-in tournament.
Also, the Lakers fell to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of this year's playoffs.
As a result, there was plenty of support behind the idea of the Lakers moving on from Ham and finding a new voice for the locker room and the sidelines:
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Lakers are now expected to conduct an "extensive" coaching search, which will include candidates such as Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and Ty Lue, should he part ways with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The idea of Redick coaching a team led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis is seemingly especially exciting to Lakers fans:
Redick, who had a 15-year NBA career with six different teams, has no previous coaching experience, but momentum has recently been building behind him becoming an NBA head coach.
Charania reported last week that Redick is a "serious candidate" for the Charlotte Hornets' head coaching vacancy after interviewing with the team.
Since retiring from playing, the 39-year-old Redick has enjoyed success as an NBA analyst for ESPN and as a podcaster.
In March, Redick and James started a podcast called Mind the Game in which they break down the X's and O's of basketball.
LeBron figures to have a major say in who is hired as the Lakers' next head coach, and given his comfort level and chemistry with Redick, the former three-point sharpshooter has to be considered a legitimate candidate.
James could conceivably opt out of his contract this offseason and sign elsewhere, but if the Lakers hire the coach he wants, it could go a long way toward keeping him in L.A.
