When deciding to part ways with Darvin Ham, the Los Angeles Lakers were left with a coaching pool that did not have much head coaching experience. That meant there would be some risk regardless of who they hired and that gamble ended up being JJ Redick.
The Lakers could have gone with another long-time assistant or a retread, but they instead decided to go outside the box with Redick.
Obviously Redick does not have much coaching experience at all, but his 15-year NBA career, podcasts and stint with ESPN showed how knowledgeable he is about basketball. It is a leap of faith for him, especially taking the head coaching position with the Lakers where he will surely be looked at under a microscope.
But during L.A.’s Summer League Game in Las Vegas on Friday, Redick went on the ESPN broadcast and shared why he decided to go into coaching at this time:
“I felt a calling to coach. Part of that is that I’m just a sicko, and I’m a masochist, and I want to sign up for high stakes, high pressure. The other is in my retirement, I realize what gives me fulfillment and what gives me drive and motivation, and that’s competition. That’s performance. That’s collaboration, being part of a team. I certainly felt all of that doing media. The other parts of that are leadership and service, and I said this at my press conference. Like a big driving factor in this for me is I just want to help people. I want to help players. I want to help coaches. I want to empower people. I want to help this Lakers organization get back to the top.”
Presumably, there will be learning curves through Redick’s rookie season as coach. But he has to find a balance quickly to maximize the Lakers’ chances of competing in a compact Western Conference.
Nonetheless, he does have LeBron James and Anthony Davis as his two stars, so Redick needs to find new and innovative ways to make their lives easier on the floor.
Shaquille O’Neal details potential challenges for JJ Redick in his first season as head coach
When this hiring became official, opinions were flying on whether JJ Redick would ultimately be a good head coach or not. One person that spoke out was Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal, who shared some potential challenges for Redick in his first season with L.A
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