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Anthony Davis was at the center of the Los Angeles Lakers' coaching search, as the organization made the usage of him a priority with their candidates, whether it be Dan Hurley, who turned the job down, or the eventual choice in JJ Redick. During a media appearance at Team USA training camp, David expanded on the role he believes he will have under Redick.
“[Redick] talked about me being the hub of the offense,” Anthony Davis said, via Ben Golliver of The Washington Post. “That will be different. We won't know everything until [training] camp when we're able to get on the floor.
“We want LeBron to shoot more threes. [Redick] wants to play fast and defend. From what he was telling me, I'm in total agreeance with what he has planned for us. … The goal at the end of the day is still to win a championship. You can't skip steps.”
It is no surprise that the Lakers and JJ Redick plan on making Davis the focal point of the offense, having things run through him. As noted above, that was something Los Angeles wanted to do with its next head coach.
With LeBron James in the later stages of his career, Davis will be the Lakers' star player after James retires. Running things through Davis offensively should be the plan in place for years down the line.
It is also intriguing to hear that Redick wants LeBron James to take more threes this upcoming season. This past season, James averaged 5.1 3-point attempts, which is the lowest it was since his last year with the Cleveland Cavaliers. James' career high in 3-point attempts per game came in 2021-22 when he averaged eight a game.
James also shot well from three this past season at 41 percent, according to Basketball Reference. That was the highest mark of his career, so it is understandable that the Lakers want him to shoot more threes. It is reasonable to expect his efficiency to go down with more attempts, but he still could be a good 3-point shooter next season.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James trying to win another Olympic gold medal
Anthony Davis is trying to win his second Olympic gold medal, with the first coming in the 2012 Olympic Games. He was also on the Team USA basketball team that won the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
LeBron James' international career has a lot more accomplishments, understandably. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning in 2008 and 2012. He also has a 2007 FIBA Americas Championship win.
It will be interesting to see the roles that Davis and James play for Team USA. Given that they are older, they might be managed in specific ways because the rest of the roster is stacked. Team USA could give those two very specific roles.
Anything short of a gold medal will be seen as a failure for Team USA, but there are some formidable opponents. It will be worth watching on July 28 when Team USA plays its first Olympic game.
