LeBron James’ text messages ‘blew me away’

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Since the beginning of the Los Angeles Lakers coaching search, LeBron James’ camp has made it known that he is not involved and will not give his opinion to the organization.

James has given his opinions on roster moves in the past, but given his current contract situation and ability to opt out and test free agency, he’s made it clear he wants the Lakers to take them -themselves the decision regarding their next coach.

Even still, it was presumed that James’ preferred choice would be JJ Redick, whose podcast he hosts talking about basketball. That being the case, it was fair to wonder how James would feel when the Lakers surprisingly attempted to oust UConn head coach Dan Hurley.

They envisioned Hurley building a program for them similar to the one he has at UConn, taking a long-term view of sustained success. And although Hurley turned them down, he has now revealed that James likely would have been OK with his hiring and even took steps to recruit him via text message, via The Herd with Colin Cowherd:

“We received text messages. An incredible message from him over the weekend, just talking about basketball and different things, and letting me know that if he was there in LA, I would have his support. Think about it, man. This blew my mind. And the exchange even continued until I chose to go in another direction. It blew my mind to receive a text message from LeBron James.

Considering James wanted to stay out of the coaching search, the fact that he contacted Hurley shows he was supportive of the potential hire.

It will be interesting to see if the Lakers failing to land Hurley will impact James’ contract decision, although they now appear to be returning to Redick as their top candidate with an interview scheduled for this weekend. While being a second option is never ideal, Redick would understand and accept the Lakers’ pursuit of Hurley and would potentially be willing to move forward with the organization.

LeBron James once praised Dan Hurley

While LeBron James texting Dan Hurley to recruit him may come as a surprise, his affinity for the UConn head coach is already well known.

He previously praised Hurley for the offense he runs with the Huskies, and James clearly thinks that would have translated to the NBA level with the Lakers.

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