Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday what Shams Charania seemed to know last week: that all indications are that JJ Redick is (or will soon be) the frontrunner for the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching job.
As Wojnarowski’s report that the Lakers will formally interview the former NBA shooting guard this weekend broke on Thursday morning, Brian Windhorst happened to be appearing on ESPN’s Get Up. And like many, Windhorst seems to believe Redick’s upcoming meeting is a mere formality, with his true interviews having already come in the form of Mind the Game.
“Anytime you hire a first-time head coach, you’re admitting you’re going to go through a learning curve,” Windhorst said. “Obviously the Lakers have done a lot of research. And frankly, his interviews have been in those podcasts with LeBron James. They’ve extensively broken down the Lakers’ offense, extensively broken down what they do. It’s been out there for the whole world to hear, including from the Lakers’ front office.”
Brian Windhorst on JJ Redick interviewing with the Lakers: “Frankly, his interviews have been in those podcasts with LeBron James. They’ve extensively broken down the Lakers’ offense, extensively broken down what they do. It’s been out there for the whole world to hear, including… pic.twitter.com/MTJb21htLl
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 13, 2024
James and Redick’s Xs and O’s based podcast, which first launched in March, is one of the biggest reasons why the sharpshooter-turned-ESPN analyst has been so frequently linked to the Lakers’ head coaching vacancy. Despite objections from James’ camp, it’s hard to imagine that Mind the Game hasn’t played a role in Los Angeles’ coaching search, with Charania agreeing that it’s likely factored into the Lakers’ research.
“That might have played a part,” Charania said on The Pat McAfee Show last week. “To say you’re not evaluating his IQ and how he speaks…following his career from a media perspective, a lot of respect for what he’s built and what he’s done. But when you see someone speak the way he does, has the relationship with the players, you’re gonna take notes.”
To be clear, neither Windhorst nor Charania are saying that Redick is likely to land the job because he has a podcast with James; more so that it would be impossible — if not irresponsible — to ignore that the Lakers’ top candidate has been breaking down their offense with their best player publicly for the past three months.
Such is life in the NBA and sports media in 2024: who needs formal interviews when you have an entire archive of podcasts to answer your questions for you?
[Get Up, Awful Announcing on X]
