Lakers HC Rumors: LeBron James Has Had 'No Conversations' With LA About JJ Redick

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James "is not involved" in the team's coaching search, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

To that end, Charania said Monday on FanDuel TV's Run It Back that James has had "no conversations" with the Lakers about JJ Redick's candidacy or spoken to Redick about the job.

Redick continues to be linked with the Lakers. NBA insider Marc Stein reported on May 15 that "a belief is already bubbling in coaching circles that the job might well be his to lose in the interview process despite Redick's lack of prior coaching experience beyond youth basketball."

The obvious conclusion many fans drew was that Los Angeles is targeting the ESPN analyst in no small part due to his existing rapport with James. The two began collaborating for their Mind the Game podcast in March.

Even if he isn't lobbying for Redick, the Lakers will face an uphill climb to shed the perception his hire would be done with the goal of enticing James to either pick up his 2024-25 player option or sign a new contract.

It's hard to square the sense behind the pairing otherwise.

Los Angeles is operating with a short window for contention. Anthony Davis is into his 30s and James, 39, won't keep going forever. Few franchises face more urgency to win now than the Lakers.

And they'd be entrusting their championship hopes to somebody who hasn't coached in any facet at the college or pro levels.

Some might draw a parallel to Steve Kerr, who was a first-time head coach when the Golden State Warriors hired him in 2014. Kerr had at least worked in the Phoenix Suns' front office, which gave him some added insight to everything that being an NBA coach entailed. Golden State was at a much different place than L.A. organizationally as well.

Maybe the Lakers hire Redick and he's a home run for them; it would be a major gamble nonetheless.

When the Russell Westbrook experiment proved to be a failure for Los Angeles, James caught some heat for how much influence he and Davis had in the process that led to Westbrook's arrival.

Charania's report will be read by some almost as a form of preemptive damage control to ensure LeBron doesn't get painted as "LeGM."