LeBron James and ‘puppet’ coach JJ Redick have made Lakers ‘undesirable’ for NBA stars, says Skip Bayless

The Los Angeles Lakers have been rejected by multiple players this season, including Klay Thompson.

LeBron James and ‘puppet’ coach JJ Redick have made Lakers ‘undesirable’ for NBA stars, says Skip Bayless

Skip Bayless blames LeBron James and JJ Redick for Lakers' poor off-season

After drafting Bronny James and hiring JJ Redick, the Los Angeles Lakers have not succeeded in adding key pieces to their team. First, Dan Hurley rejected the head coaching position, but that was not all, as even players have declined the City of Angels. Sports commentator Skip Bayless blamed LeBron James in his take on the players passing on the Lakers.

As many are blaming the team’s GM, Rob Pelinka, Skip Bayless has gone another way. The sports media figure believes that LeBron James‘ involvement in front-office activities remains a problem for the players. Bayless also took a jibe at JJ Redick as he called him James’ puppet while stating that the player will run most of the situations. 

Maybe they're no longer in the eyes of players around the league, the 'Lakers' anymore. Because LeBron has become more troubled than his worth running the Lakers with now his puppet head coach JJ Redick.
Skip Bayless via The Skip Bayless Show
YouTube video

Bayless might be right, as James was involved in most of the Lakers’ interests this offseason. The star reportedly contacted coach Hurley and Klay Thompson in hopes of them joining the team. James was even willing to take a pay cut to add another star to the team’s roster, but that attempt failed as well. Thompson signed with the Dallas Mavericks for less money than join ‘King James.’

FS Video

Stars aside, even players like Buddy Hield and coaches like Terry Stotts rejected the Lakers. Bayless believes that the responsibility at the end will fall on James, including the coaching, considering Redick’s lack of experience in the field. However, the team certainly needs to find a way to recruit talented players in order to make the championship race.

Skip Bayless believed hiring JJ Redick would be a ‘disaster’

Bayless has had a problem with the Lakers’ interest in Redick for a long time. Even before the team officially hired the coach, Bayless raised his concerns about the choice. Despite being known as a player with a lot of basketball knowledge, Redick lacks experience in the important field.

Back in May, Bayless spoke about the topic on Fox’s Undisputed, where he praised Redick’s basketball IQ. Considering Redick and James share a podcast, the analyst was also all in for their chemistry behind the mics. However, Bayless rejected Redick’s head coaching role. 

I do like him and respect his basketball IQ. And I think that he does vibe with LeBron on this podcast and it's a high-level, deep-level podcast so we get that. But knowing what I know about this league and what it requires, this would be a disaster of Westbrookian proportions to add him to the Lakers.
JJ Redick via Undisputed on FS1

Bayless was referring to the Lakers’ poor decision to recruit Russell Westbrook, which turned out to be a failure. The sports media figure believes that the same would happen to Redick. The Lakers certainly have much to prove, from Redick’s coaching to the team’s success in recruiting players. It will be interesting to see what the team does next.

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