According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, LeBron James believes the Los Angeles Lakers to draft his kid Bronny in 2024 and hire J.J. Redick as the franchise’s 29th head coach.
“Let me tell you what else I’ve heard,” Smith said. “LeBron James is trying to persuade the Los Angeles Lakers to take Bronny James with their second-round choice. He’d also prefer J.J. Redick to become his next head coach. I am merely telling you what I have heard.”
According to a report last month by The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jovan Buha, the Lakers are extremely optimistic about Redick’s coaching abilities and believe he has some parallels with former Los Angeles head coach Pat Riley. Charania and Buha stated that Redick, a former player and media pundit, has generated excitement for the position across the league. “The Lakers are infatuated with Redick’s potential, according to league sources, viewing him as a Pat Riley-like coaching prospect who could both help the franchise in the short term and lead it for years.”
Anthony Irwin of Lakers Daily also claimed in May that Los Angeles has “zeroed in” on Redick to replace Darvin Ham, the Lakers’ head coach for the previous two seasons. Moving on to the younger James, Smith suggested a few days ago that the prospect’s draft stock is being manipulated so that he can join the Lakers and play alongside the elder James. For comparison, ESPN recently placed the younger James as the No. 54 overall talent in the 2024 NBA Draft, with the Lakers holding the No. 55 choice.
