In a recent episode of the show First Take, the host, Stephen A. Smith, shared his thoughts on the timing of the podcast Mind the Game, hosted by Los Angeles Lakers star player LeBron James and JJ Redick. Smith mentioned that some black coaches are concerned about Redick doing a podcast with James.
“Numerous coaches, Black coaches called me, expressing how they took issue with that podcast taking place. And I think you know enough to know that that’s true. Some of them felt very salty about that.” Smith said.
Smith mentioned that he celebrated when the news came about the podcast, but fans began questioning Darvin Ham when the podcast gained viewers. He also mentioned Anthony Davis’ statement on the same topic.
“In fairness to LeBron James, when the news came out – hell, we celebrated it right here on the show. But as the podcast gained steam and then the spotlight became more magnified for Darvin Ham, and then you saw Anthony Davis after Game 2 against Denver talk about how…‘we just weren’t on the same page, we just seemed to be out of sync.’ We saw all these things.” Smith added.
Smith Drops Bombshell Details on LeBron James and JJ Redick Redick Show
Smith spilled some important facts about the timing of the show and Ham. He mentioned that James couldn’t have started the show in the playoffs.
“You take all those things into account; this does not look good. And what I was saying on the air last week was that you couldn’t have started it in the playoffs. You couldn’t have started it after Darvin Ham lost the job? Did you have to start it in the middle of the damn season when he’s on the hot seat? Because why? That’s what some of the coaches were saying.” Smith continued.
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Smith further cleared the doubts that he is not saying that James orchestrated something to fire Darvin Ham from the head coach position and add JJ Redick to the job.
James and Redick launched the Mind the Games podcast on March 19, 2024. Together, the two players have discussed important NBA topics. However, Smith has expressed concern about the timing of the show, as it started when Ham was under pressure as the Lakers’ head coach.
However, after firing Ham from the position, the Lakers were searching for a potential candidate who could bring the team greater success in the next season. James’s podcast with Redick indirectly impacted Redick’s chances of being selected as the Lakers’ next head coach. According to recent reports from NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic, Redick is the frontrunner for the position.
