"Easy way to lose LeBron James" — Former Heat legend clarifies why coaches often lose hold of 4x champion
LeBron James’ team, the Los Angeles Lakers, are already in the last stages of their search for a new head coach. Just after it was reported that JJ Redick was the front-runner for the position, the latest reports suggest that UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley might be nearing a massive deal with the Lakers.
Since LeBron James joined Los Angeles in 2018, he has had three different coaches. After Darvin Ham was fired, there were allegations that the team had to make a scapegoat for the Lakers’ failure in 2023-24, and the head coach was the easiest target.
Having James on their side is a necessity for any coach in charge of the four-time NBA champion's team. Ham had lost the trust of his superstar players, including Anthony Davis, and that might have cost him the job.
Udonis Haslem, formerly James’ teammate at the Miami Heat, explained why James might have lost trust in Ham. Haslem said that LeBron loves being coached, and ignoring little things in the film room can get the superstar to lose faith in a coach.
"LeBron James loves being coached. He actually respects guys that have great basketball minds and that will challenge him on a basketball level and push him to a point where he has to think about things and get him out of his comfort zone little bit," Haslem said on ESPN's First Take.
"Coaches kind of letting things slide on film on Bron and other guys that’s not what LeBron likes, that’s easy way to lose LeBron James. He wants to be coached, he wants to be held accountable, he is the kind of the guy that is the extension of the coach in the locker room.”
When Luke Walton was the Lakers coach, the Lakers fired him within a year of James’ arrival in LA. After firing Walton in 2019, the Lakers hired Frank Vogel as their next head coach. Vogel won a championship with James in 2022. He was fired after two consecutive disappointing seasons.
Under Darvin Ham, the Lakers reached the playoffs in his first year but were swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals. This season, the teams exited the playoffs in the first round when they lost to the Nuggets 1-4.
Matt Norlander doesn’t believe LeBron James factor would be enticing enough for Dan Hurley to join Lakers
One of the reasons that the Lakers job could entice Dan Hurley is the presence of LeBron James. Both James and Hurley have known each other for a long time and share a mutual respect.
However, College basketball analyst Matt Norlander doesn't believe that the presence of James would be a big enough factor to get Hurley to accept the offer.
"The LeBron James factor, that's a short-term thing... The Lakers struggled to be a team of real relevance. He'd have to take the job knowing what it could be after the time with LeBron James had passed and all that comes with it," Norlander told CBS Sports.
Norlander isn't the only person who has doubts about Hurley being willing to take the job. Former Lakers star Lou Williams said that he doesn't see the UConn coach leaving his position as the "king of the hill in Connecticut" and taking a difficult job in Los Angeles.