"One of the most egregious things" - Stephen A. Smith blames LeBron James for influencing Darvin Ham's firing via podcast venture JJ Redick
While LeBron James has reportedly been hands-off in the LA Lakers' recent coaching search, Stephen A. Smith isn't convinced he didn't have a hand in Darvin Ham's firing. During a recent episode of First Take on Thursday morning, Smith explained that the timing of James and JJ Redick starting their Mind The Game podcast seemed to be awfully coincidental.
With the Lakers struggling to find consistency in the later half of the season, it's no secret that at the time that Darvin Ham was treading a fine line. Once the team was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs and the Lakers parted ways with Ham, it didn't take long for JJ Redick to emerge as a potential replacement.
While the franchise has since pursued UConn coach Dan Hurley to no avail, Redick is once again being viewed as the favorite to land the position. Of course, given that he and LeBron James have a podcast together, many have questioned if the move is a wise one.
On Thursday's episode of First Take, Smith weighed in:
"I don't care what anybody says. That was a very egregious thing to do. I'm not talking about the podcast itself. I'm talking about the timing.
"The Lakers get eliminated, and LeBron James and JJ do their podcast? There's no problem. This summer starts, they're doing their podcast? There's no problem. Darvin Ham was on the hot seat. And that's when LeBron James, in the middle of the season, decides to do a podcast with a brilliant, cerebral basketball mind."
Looking at the latest regarding the LA Lakers' coaching search amid Stephen A. Smith's comments about LeBron James
So far, there has been little progress made in regards to the Lakers' coaching search. After UConn coach Dan Hurley declined a massive contract to join the team long-term, the Lakers' front office went back to the drawing board.
While reports have indicated that JJ Redick is still in the running, there has also been talk of James Borrego being the frontrunner for the position. Of course, at the same time, other reports have indicated that Borrego could wind up replacing JB Bickerstaff as the Cavaliers' coach.
This would leave Redick alongside other candidates such as Kenny Atkinson and Sam Cassell, giving the Lakers a strong pool of candidates to hire from. As longtime NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier this month, the team is hoping to have finalized a coach by the first night of the draft on Jun. 26.
This would give the team just under two weeks to figure things out. As NBA vet Lou Williams pointed out earlier this week, however, the Lakers' front office is likely under some pressure to figure things out sooner rather than later.
Given the fact that the team could undergo a bit of a roster overhaul this offseason, free agents may be hesitant to sign with LA unless they have a coach. In addition, with LeBron James set to decide whether to opt in or opt out from the final year of his deal, who the front office hires could sway James either way.