It looks like the Los Angeles Lakers’ top stars, Lebron James and Anthony Davis, may have different preferences when it comes to the team’s next head coach.
Before the Lakers front office looks to improve its roster on the summer trade market, the organization has to make a very important decision. After just two seasons on the job, Darvin Ham was dismissed from his role as head coach last month and now the franchise must hire a replacement for the third time in six years.
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From the start, former NBA player and current ESPN analyst JJ Redick was seen as a favorite for the job. The 39-year-old has rocketed up the media side of the business in record time due to his work on ESPN and a fast-growing career as a podcaster. Which includes the show “Mind of the Game,” which he co-hosts with none other than Lebron James.
While the league legend hasn’t spoken publicly about the team’s head coach search, the assumption is he will have an influence on the decision and prefers his pal Redick. However, it seems teammate Anthony Davis may not be aligned with James on who should be the next head coach.
In a Friday report on his substack page, veteran NBA insider Marc Stein revealed the word around the league on who the nine-time All-Star prefers to lead the team from the bench.
“It has been suggested in some corners of the league that Lakers star big man Anthony Davis probably prefers for James Borrego to get the job over Redick,” Stein wrote. “Not only has Borrego been a head coach twice already in Orlando and Charlotte compared to Redick’s lack of head coaching experience, but he and Davis overlapped briefly during Borrego’s first stint with the Pelicans after Davis was drafted No. 1 overall in June 2012.”
Another interesting caveat to the narrative is that Redick, who gets a vote for season-end awards due to his ESPN work, did not put Davis on his All-NBA defense first or second team. Who knows if that has any effect on his opinion, or if Davis even knows the Clippers and 76ers veteran has a vote.
