Stephen A. Smith: LeBron James wants Lakers to draft his son, hire JJ Redick

The biggest domino to drop when it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason is what LeBron James decides to do. He can opt out of his current deal to become a free agent, which most expect him to do. Although many believe he will remain with the Lakers on a new contract, it could come with some stipulations.

His son Bronny is showing promise during this week’s draft combine. There is talk percolating around the NBA that teams other than the Lakers could take a chance on drafting the younger James in an attempt to lure his father in free agency.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes one of those teams could be the Dallas Mavericks. He also said he’s heard the elder James wants the Lakers to draft his son and hire JJ Redick, his co-host on the “Mind the Game” podcast, as their next head coach.

“Let me tell you what else I’ve been hearing,” said Smith. “LeBron James is trying to get the Los Angeles Lakers to draft Bronny James with a second-round pick. He’d also like for JJ Redick to be his next head coach. I’m just telling you what I’ve heard. And that doesn’t mean the Lakers want JJ Redick. It doesn’t mean they don’t. They haven’t made a finite decision about anybody yet. But LeBron has. That’s the guy he wants.”

Redick is one of the Lakers’ candidates in their head coaching search. In fact, beat writer Jovan Buha believes he could be the favorite to land the job.

The team has the No. 55 pick in next month’s draft. The younger James could be off the board by that point of the second round, but it could also look to acquire another pick earlier in the second round, something it has done on multiple occasions in recent years to draft a player it liked.

The elder James has said multiple times he wants to play on the same NBA team as his son. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said it isn’t a priority anymore for the 39-year-old, but one can never be sure what is really happening behind the scenes.