From the looks of it, the Lakers coaching search is finally over! After weeks of speculations that bounced between Dan Hurley and James Borrego, the team has landed a surprising choice: JJ Redick. This news comes after LeBron James and his podcast pal kept everything under wraps for quite some time. In fact, there’s been no “Mind The Game” podcast for two weeks now, we wonder why! Stephen A. Smith was one of many who congratulated his broadcasting partner on landing the new gig, however, he had previously criticized both James and Redick for driving the franchise’s agenda with their actions after Rob Pelinka and Co. fired Darvin Ham.

Stephen A. Smith stirred the pot with his comments on the Lakers coaching saga. He had once criticized Bron for influencing the firing of Darvin Ham calling out the strategic timing of starting “Mind the Game” launched in March, bang in the middle of a season. But it now seems he’s had a change of heart. He re-tweeted the report by Adrian Wojnarowski that announced the deal, additionally quoting, “Congrats to my man @jj_redick. Anyone who knows anything about you knows that you have that coaching itch. Wishing you nothing but the best!”

As per Wojnarowski, JJ Redick and the LA side have agreed on a 4-year deal. The report also reveals that Rob Pelinka offered him the job yesterday morning. The plan of action would now be to surround himself with as much experience with a unified goal. It remains to be seen what happens to his ESPN deal after all of this. However, as we speak of Redick inking the new deal, Stephen A. had taken this controversy in a whole new direction after he revealed many considered it to be a racial approach!

Unexpected ‘black NBA coaches’ issue raised by Stephen A Smith against LeBron James

LeBron James and JJ Redick’s pod continued through the end of the NBA season and into the playoffs. This coincided with backlash against then-head coach Darvin Ham, following the Lakers’ first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets. Ham was subsequently fired and Redick emerged as a surprising leading candidate for the job. While Stephen A. Smith doesn’t fault him for pursuing the opportunity, he has questioned LeBron James’ influence in the coaching search, suggesting potential favoritism and he’s not alone in doing so.

The nature of James’ relationship with Redick before the pod began remains unclear. None of that matters for a few Black coaches, Smith further explained, “Numerous coaches, Black coaches, called me expressing how they took issue with that podcast taking place.” However, these comments lead to the analyst receiving some serious backlash from the fanbase. Even Bron’s agent Rich Paul made his point, saying, “LeBron James and JJ Redick do a podcast together, that does not mean he wants Redick as the head coach.”

However, the Lakers still have big roster-related problems to address. Amid their search for a third star, while having no real room to splash cash or trade future draft picks, it’ll be interesting to see how JJ transforms the team for next season.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA star rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.