What JJ Redick hire means for LeBron James future with Lakers

Once Dan Hurley officially turned the Los Angeles Lakers down, it felt as if JJ Redick coaching the team was inevitable. Sure enough, after a couple of smoke screens, the Lakers did indeed hire Redick, giving him a four-year deal to be their next head coach following Darvin Ham's dismissal.

What makes this hire so fascinating is the fact that Redick has absolutely no coaching experience. Yes, he played 15 years in the NBA and has experience as a broadcaster and podcaster as well, but nothing coaching-wise. That isn't to say he's incapable, it's just to say we don't know how he'll do.

Hiring an inexperienced coach like that is an interesting move for a franchise striving to win an NBA Championship immediately to make. We've seen it pay off with Steve Kerr winning four NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors, and we've seen it backfire tremendously with Steve Nash winning one playoff series with the Brooklyn Nets.

What Lakers fans have to wonder is if a guy like LeBron James in the twilight of his career will be interested in playing for a head coach with no experience like Redick. Fortunately for them, the answer is probable yes.

JJ Redick hire will likely only mean good things in regards to LeBron James' Lakers future

James will be a free agent after he presumably turns down his player option for the 2024-25 campaign. While turning that down does mean he can leave, the Redick hire should only convince him to stay.

The main reason for this, of course, is that LeBron and Redick have a relationship. They are co-hosts on the Mind the Game podcast that conveniently started in the middle of this past regular season. LeBron clearly respects Redick's basketball knowledge, and will almost certainly respect him as a head coach.

There's almost no chance that the Lakers went through this entire process without speaking to LeBron at all. If they did, that'd be malpractice on their end. LeBron almost certainly signed off on the hire. Sure, it could be him just helping out a friend, but if he couldn't envision playing for Redick at all, it's hard to picture LeBron giving the Lakers, a team that he'd presumably want to continue playing for, the green light.

LeBron very well might consider leaving because he doesn't view the Lakers as a legitimate championship team, but that'd say more about the supporting cast and the opportunity he'd have elsewhere than it would about Redick being named the head coach.

It's hard to know whether Redick joining the mix would be enough for LeBron to re-sign, but it's hard to think of a reason why it would hurt his chances of doing so.