J.J. Redick and LeBron James immediately respond to Colin Cowherd’s criticism of rumored Lakers candidate

Jonathan Sherman
4 Min Read

Outspoken sports pundit Colin Cowherd recently had an interesting criticism of former NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick and his appearance during an episode of Redick’s podcast which he co-hosts with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

In a recent episode of the podcast, Redick could be seen wearing a backward baseball cap, which, for some reason, rubbed Cowherd the wrong way. He spoke about the look during his own show.

Cowherd seems to believe that the backward cap makes Redick look unprofessional amid rumors that he could potentially become an NBA head coach.

“J.J. Redick is talkin’ basketball at a different level, and look at this guy,” Cowherd said.

It didn’t take long at all for both Redick and James to take to social media to respond to the odd attack. While Redick’s response was short and sweet, James went the extra mile to hunt down images of other NBA folks wearing backward caps.

This exchange of messages comes amidst reports that James’ team might have interest in Redick becoming its next head coach. One fan even responded to James’ message to ask if his post confirms Redick as the future Lakers head coach.

There are reportedly a lot of candidates to fill the head-coaching vacancy that was created when former Lakers skipper Darvin Ham was fired.

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times named a slew of possible options that the Lakers might be looking at to fill the position.

“In conversations with sources over the last few days, there’s a strong sense the Lakers are putting a premium on experience in this search — following trends where the Lakers have course-corrected from one decision by doing a version of the opposite,” he wrote. “And since Ham was a first-time coach …

“That means Kenny Atkinson, who has been on Steve Kerr’s staff in Golden State and who did well in the last Lakers’ coaching search, will be in the mix.”

Woike later added a few other names to the list. Woike also seemed to confirm that Redick’s name is indeed on that long list.

“But while there’s a desire to find someone with experience, the Lakers, sources say, aren’t solely focused on that and seem to be open to speaking with candidates from multiple coaching pedigrees,” he wrote.

“Yes, that means coaches with established records in the big seat on the sidelines. But it also means consideration of some of the most highly regarded assistant coaches, including those still working in the postseason such as Denver’s David Adelman, Minnesota’s Micah Noria, Boston’s Charles Lee and Dallas’ Sean Sweeney.

“And yes, it means consideration for broadcaster/podcaster JJ Redick, who will receive serious consideration despite no coaching experience beyond his son’s youth team in New York City.”

Despite putting up a big fight in each game of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, James and the Lakers still fell to the defending champs in just five games.

It’s clear that the organization knows it has to retool if it wants to get over the hump and once again get back to the promised land by winning another NBA championship. Whether the Lakers end up deciding that Redick is the man for the job remains to be seen.

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Jonathan has worked as a sports writer covering NBA and NFL news since 2017. He's a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Vikings.