Lakers’ Rob Pelinka said LeBron James “chose not to be heavily involved” in coaching process

The two close friends recorded nine podcasts together in which they partly praised each other for their respective talent, intelligence, and work ethic. Yet, JJ Redick said he and LeBron James didn’t have conversations with each other during the Lakers’ nearly six-week coaching search before eventually offering him the gig last week.

“He didn't provide any advice,” Redick said on Monday at his introductory press conference at the Lakers’ practice facility. “LeBron and I did not talk about the Lakers job until Thursday afternoon about 30 minutes after I was offered the job. And that was very intentional on both our parts.”

James also intentionally did not have any direct conversations with the Lakers’ front office during the coaching search that included interviews with Redick, former New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego and Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley.”

“LeBron was very supportive of us in our process, but chose not to be heavily involved,” said Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager. “And we respected that. Anthony Davis, our other captain, chose to be very involved and was very involved. I talked to him throughout the process and got a lot of help and wisdom from him. And he was very excited for today.”

So was James, whom Redick recorded the “Mind the Game” podcast last March. In all of those episodes, James and Redick routinely swapped stories and compliments about their work habits, their respective talent and basketball philosophies. James and Redick also praised Hurley’s playcalling.

Even if James had endorsed both coaching hires, he would have maintained more distance from the Lakers front office. The Lakers missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 season amid overlapping injuries and Russell Westbrook’s poor fit. James then received scrutiny for imploring the Lakers to acquire Westbrook from the Washington Wizards amid ongoing talks with the Sacramento Kings to land Buddy Hield. Those around James have maintained simply offered his perspective on various potential moves, including the Westbrook deal.

Since then, James has refrained from directly telling the Lakers’ front office what to do leading into the trade deadline and into the offseason. James took the same tack after the Lakers fired Darvin Ham in early May shortly after they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round in five games.

“I had an understanding that he did not want to be involved in this and for me, I didn't want to go down the path of hypotheticals with someone that I consider a friend and someone that I have a great amount of respect for,” Redick said. “So, for us, it just came down to literally Thursday afternoon. And I talked to him for about 15-20 minutes and got off the phone. That was it.”

What is next for JJ Redick and LeBron James' relationship?

Now comes another delicate challenge. How will Redick maximize the 39-year-old James by ensuring he plays at an All-Star caliber level in his 22nd NBA season while protecting him from Father Time’s unforgiving touch?

Part of that hinges on other factors. Does Davis have the talent and durability to handle a larger role? Will the Lakers’ emphasis on player development yield internal improvement among Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Max Christie? And will the Lakers make a move with their three first-round draft picks?

It starts though with how well James meshes with his former podcast partner.

“You have to certainly get buy-in and talk to him about how he wants to play,” Redick said about James. “Him and I have joked about this, but like, He shot over 40 percent from 3 this year. I want him shooting 3s. He's going to have his three or four bursts every game where he gets out in transition and does things that no one at his age should ever be able to do, but he does it. It's really just figuring out in the half court and putting him in different spots, both as a scorer and a facilitator.”

That would make for an interesting topic for an upcoming podcast. Instead, that conversation will happen in the locker room and on the practice court.

“I am excommunicated from the content space,” Redick said. “There would be no podcasts. We’ll do something when I have a breather. From what we have coming up, I'm going to be drinking out of a fire hose for the next month. But at some point, we'll just do something for all the people that listened and we'll have a small little video. But I'm done with podcasting for now.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider with Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.