The biggest move the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason was the hiring of JJ Redick as the team’s new head coach. As is the case with any head coach hiring, owner Jeanie Buss had to sign off on it as well, but it was general manager Rob Pelinka who was leading the search.
There was some concern with Redick as he had never been a head coach at any level, but the hiring has worked out great so far. Redick won 50 games in his first season with the Lakers, showing off his ability to game plan and adjust on the fly throughout the year.
But in coming to the decision to hire him in the first place, it was a matter of Buss leaning on and believing in Pelinka. In an interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio, Buss said that she wanted Pelinka to find someone who truly aligned with his vision and trusted him when it was clear that Redick was that person:
“When the decision was made to part ways with Darvin Ham, I said to Rob ‘I want you to go and find a coach that really kind of meets how you look at the process and really compliments your style. And think differently, you don’t have to do the standard retread of a coach.’ Not that that’s a problem, but I just wanted him to have the freedom to search out. And he, after doing his work, came back to me and JJ was really resonating with him and their conversations. It was really just relying on Rob and believing in what Rob’s vision was for this team and him doing the homework and him coming up with JJ as the right candidate. And what I did was talk to people about the things that I was concerned about, meaning a first-year coach. I don’t wanna keep having to change coaches if things don’t work out. I want somebody for the long run, somebody that has a vision of the kind of team that he wants to run and I just kept getting such good feedback about JJ. And so I was eager to meet him in person I had never met him. But really my confidence was in Rob Pelinka and believing and knowing that he could lead this team and that he should have the opportunity to have a coach that really reflected his vision for what Laker basketball could be.”
Having synergy throughout the franchise is extremely important and it is clear that Buss, Pelinka and Redick are all on the same page. Buss has always had a ton of belief in Pelinka, hence why he was recently given a contract extension, and Redick looks primed to be the Lakers’ head coach for a very long time.
Buss is an owner who stays informed and always knows what is going on, but also trusts and empowers people to do their job. And if you have the right people in place, that leads to better results more often than not.
JJ Redick says Lakers didn’t respond to physicality of Timberwolves in Game 1
Of course, JJ Redick is focused on making a deep playoff run, but it didn’t get off to a great start as the Lakers were dominated in Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. And Redick feels his team simply did not respond to the physicality their opponents came with.
“It’s not to say our guys weren’t ready to withstand a playoff-level basketball game,” Redick said. “We were mentally ready. I thought our spirit was right. I thought even when they made runs, our huddles were great. The communication was great. I’m not sure physically we were ready, if that makes sense. Really, when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn’t respond immediately to that. Then that stretch from the start of the second through four or five minutes to go into the third, we lost that stretch by 34. That’s a blowout.”
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