Jason Gallagher was the lead producer for new Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s ThreeFourTwo Productions projects, including the infamous Mind the Game podcast that Redick cohosted with new star player LeBron James. And while Gallagher understands the scrutiny the show received during the Lakers coaching search, he insists it was not part of some grand plan to install Redick as head coach.
In an appearance on the Jenkins & Jonez podcast released Tuesday, Gallagher said the plan for Mind the Game came together organically, and the Lakers search never came up between James and Redick during production.
“I think the funniest thing being a little bit on the inside and sort of understanding what LeBron’s camp has to go through every day is that I think everyone assumes that is like some 10-year Illuminati plan that happened, and it very much is not,” Gallagher said. “To the degree that I couldn’t believe no one was talking about it when we would go into record, and it would be like leading First Take and no one would say anything. And I think there was a real commitment to the podcast, and there was a real commitment to the type of podcast we wanted to make. But no, this was not a plan. That’s been the funniest part.”
As rumors flew about Redick getting the job, the one time Gallagher truly felt Redick could be a good coach for James is when he called James out during an early episode when James tried to hide that he searches the internet for his own highlights.
Gallagher added that as recently as the NBA Finals, he was around Redick often and the Lakers situation did not come up.
While the irony of Redick landing the job makes for an interesting plot line in Los Angeles next NBA season, Stephen A. Smith raised the stakes around Mind the Game when he reported that Black coaches in the league were disappointed that James would launch the show while former Lakers coach Darvin Ham was still in the job.
No matter the timing or how much of a role Mind the Game played in the Lakers’ front office’s decision to hire Redick, it appears both he and James were able to compartmentalize the podcast from their potential future partnership in Los Angeles throughout the show’s short run.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.