LeBron James breaks silence on the hiring of JJ Redick and assistant coaches

When the Mind the Game podcast was first launched, few expected it to have such a direct impact on the Los Angeles Lakers. Months later, however, LeBron James is back with the franchise and preparing to play for his co-host and first-year head coach JJ Redick.

As the Lakers continue to build out the coaching staff that will support Redick during his first season in Los Angeles, James has finally broken his silence.

As Redick prepares for his first season as an NBA coach, the Lakers have made a commitment to surrounding him with experience. Los Angeles has hired former head coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan to the staff, thus accomplishing that goal early and effectively.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, James doubled down on not being involved in the hiring of Redick, but expressed excitement over working with the new coaching staff.

""I'm not involved in the coaching hiring, but I'm excited about JJ," he said. "I'm excited about working with coach [Nate] McMillan. I haven't worked with him since the Olympic run [in 2008]. First time working with coach [Scott] Brooks, looking forward to that. So, I'm excited about that. That's been the extent of it all this summer as far as the Lakers.""

It's a diplomatic take from James, but it's easy to understand why the excitement would be genuine.

LeBron James breaks his silence on the recent Lakers coaching hires

Brooks played 10 seasons in the NBA and has been coaching in the Association since 2003. That includes seven seasons as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, during which time he led the team to the 2012 NBA Finals. He spent another five seasons as head coach of the Washington Wizards.

Brooks has worked the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers, thus further building out his strong résumé.

McMillan, meanwhile, played 12 NBA seasons, earning All-Defense honors in 1993-94 and 1994-95. He has nearly 25 years of coaching experience at the highest level, as well, including stints as the head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers, and Atlanta Hawks.

McMillan was most recently the head coach of the Hawks, which he led to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals.

For Redick, adding two experienced head coaches is a promising sign for the future. They can help provide insight into what it takes to succeed as an NBA head coach, as well as the potential pitfalls that can doom a tenure.

It's also worth noting that McMillan was an assistant coach for Team USA during the gold medal runs in 2008 and 2012, both of which James was a part of.

The question facing all of the hired coaches is how they plan to help James get back to the championship stage. The four-time NBA champion will turn 40 in December, thus tasking Redick and the coaching staff with helping him navigate the regular season.

It's a tall task for a first-year staff to take on, but such is the life of a coach with superstars on the roster and 17 championships in the rearview.