LeBron James not involved in Lakers' coaching search

LeBron James has seen just about every defense imaginable throughout his career and has had his fair share of postseason battles with players. On the “Mind the Game” podcast with JJ Redick, James named Stanley Johnson as one of the more underrated defenders he faced during their playoff series in 2018: “I think it was my first year back in Cleveland on a return and it was our first-round opponent, I think we played Detroit, if I’m not mistaken. I think KCP was on that team, (Andre) Drummond was on that team, a couple of other guys was on that team, obviously Moose (Greg Monroe) was on that team, I believe. I think Stan (Van Gundy) was coaching, if I’m not mistaken. I think Stan was coaching that team. But back to your question, Stanley Johnson he earned my respect in that first-round series. Stanley Johnson, he had the lateral movement, he had the physicality. You can tell the coaching staff told him ‘Don’t worry about the schemes.’ I feel like the same thing with Dort, don’t worry about the schemes yet. Everybody’s switching but you. You get through every screen. If you weakside lowman, you have no responsibility, you don’t pull in. You’re basically playing a box-and-one. There’s a lot more guys, obviously, I would give credit to defensively but that’s the one guy off the top of my head. It’s not recent memory, it’s 10 years ago but it’s recent enough. But Stanley definitely possessed those skills in our league, for sure.” -via Lakers Nation / May 20, 2024

Despite Bronny‘s statements, despite word from LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul and even James himself, the father and son remain inevitably linked, Bronny’s draft stock and LeBron James’ free agency tied as tightly as ever. Forget second-round evaluations, multiple NBA executives told The Times their teams have discussed drafting Bronny James in the first round in an effort to lure his father to their team in free agency. “If you’re a contender and you’re not having those conversations, it’s irresponsible,” said one executive, who like other NBA personnel spoke on condition of anonymity because teams don’t share their draft strategy. -via Los Angeles Times / May 19, 2024

Garnett also said that drafting LeBron James’ son could be worth it due to his genes alone. “If I am a team bro, I would actually take a chance on that,” Garnett said. “Because greatness runs through bro’s veins. You got to know at some point, he’s going to have a growth spurt and it’s going to click.” -via Bleacher Report / May 18, 2024