Report: LeBron James has ‘not had any conversations’ with Lakers about Dan Hurley, JJ Redick

The Lakers’ head coach search has gotten very interesting with reports about Dan Hurley being the team’s No. 1 target, but LeBron James has not been involved in the process so far.

The Lakers are entering a new era in the franchise, one that seemed to really begin last season. After years of LeBron James being the star of the franchise, Anthony Davis really grabbed hold of the rope last season and, for the first time since his arrival, the Lakers felt like his team.

Now, the way the team is approaching its offseason decisions is reflecting that as well. On the same day that Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the Lakers had made AD a “significant part” of the coaching search, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that LeBron had not had conversations with the Lakers about their coaching search.

This does go in line with another recent report from Shams Charania of The Athletic in which he references a conversation with Rich Paul stating that LeBron was not involved with the search.

While it could easily be seen as some sort of PR from LeBron and Klutch Sports, the vibe of the Lakers’ coaching search has changed drastically recently. When JJ Redick was the lead candidate, it was quite a questionable decision and perhaps would have made sense not to be attached to it. But going after Dan Hurley is a much more interesting, and generally considered wiser, candidate the team is chasing.

LeBron, though, has remained adamant he’s not part of this process.

That could be interpreted in a couple ways. Most likely, given what he has reportedly said to the front office, LeBron is aware of the changing of the guard and is encouraging the Lakers to embrace the star that’s going to be around the team long-term.

The more cynical thought process would be that he is planning on leaving this summer and he’s making it known that they shouldn’t worry about what he thinks because he won’t be around. Now, there’s little to support that as all reports have been that he wants to remain a Laker, but it’d be dishonest not to at least acknowledge that as a possibility.

What’s likely the truth here is that LeBron is aware of his situation and is encouraging the Lakers to plan with him in mind moving forward. It’s one of the first times the team has actively planned for life without LeBron, making it really start to hit home how close the Lakers are to not having LeBron on the roster anymore.

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