Compared With Cristiano Ronaldo, “Selfish” LeBron James Could Dash JJ Redick’s Lakers Ambitions: “He’s More of a Taker Than a Giver”

The Los Angeles Lakers have a lot of work to do this offseason. Following their humbling 4-1 first-round series defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers’ management fired HC Darvin Ham. Now, they are without a head coach, and the future of their franchise star, LeBron James, also seems uncertain. However, Lakers’ GM, Rob Pelinka, might have a trump card up his sleeve, which could probably solve both problems at once.

The search for the new Lakers’ HC is already underway. Several candidates, like Kenny Atkinson, Ty Lue, David Adelman, and Micah Nori, are all under consideration. However, one name that stands out is

JJ Redick. The 39-year-old former NBA star has made a name for himself as an insightful analyst and a popular podcast host, but he is relatively new when it comes to coaching in the NBA. However, this will have little impact on his coaching aspirations if LeBron James decides to put in a word for him.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)The two men share a cordial working relationship, even collaborating as co-hosts on the Mind the Game podcast. However, according to former ESPN analyst Colin Cowherd, working with LeBron James might prove counterintuitive for Redick. During the latest episode of the Colin Cowherd podcast, the 60-year-old spoke his heart about LeBron, claiming, “In the NBA and international soccer, where you have these Ronaldos and LeBrons that are literally. I mean, they are almost above the sport… It is harder to get that attention. It is harder to get that buy-in.” 

“Now, I think LeBron gets a little selfish, where it’s more about legacy and productions… I do feel with LeBron, he’s a little more of a taker than a giver now,” he further added. Cowherd’s remarks about James have caught many fans by surprise. But is there some truth to his remarks?

Is LeBron James really a “taker”?

Colin Cowherd has gained a reputation for having some of the most outlandish takes. He recently criticized JJ Redick for wearing his cap backward. And then, there was his comment about LeBron James being a “taker.” It became just another addition to Cowherd’s long list of outrageous takes. As for LeBron, throughout his illustrious 21-season NBA career, his style of playing basketball has typically made his teammates better.

Ray Allen, NBA Hall-of-Famer and LeBron’s teammate during his Miami days, labeled James as one of his favorite teammates. He also noted, “LeBron is a guy who you’ll have fun with, he’ll compete with you, but he is always one of the guys. He never made himself bigger than the next man.” 

Of course, acquiring LeBron James comes with a certain level of expectations. Every team that LeBron has been a part of usually trades their youngsters and draft picks for win-now players. But no executive in the NBA wouldn’t take that deal. Every team’s main goal is to win, and right now, there’s nobody in the league who excels at it more than LeBron James.