Although JJ Redick is in his first year as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach, he understands how hard it is to lead a team with playoff expectations.
Redick was thrust into a pressure-filled situation as the Lakers look to win one more title with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, though other teams around the league are trying to get into the championship mix.
The Sacramento Kings came into the 2024-25 season hoping to compete in the postseason, but they’re currently out of the playoff picture. Amidst a five-game losing streak, the Kings decided to fire Mike Brown who had signed an extension in the offseason.
Prior to their matchup against Sacramento, Redick discussed Brown’s firing and his honest thoughts on the job he’s done as a head coach. “There’s obviously been a number of coaches that have weighed in on Mike getting let go,” Redick said. “Of course I have a great deal of respect for Mike as a human and as a coach.
“I knew this when I decided to do this, it’s a tough profession. It’s a tough profession for job security. But it’s what we signed up for. I don’t have any sort of inside knowledge of what led to that, but I believe Mike Brown is an excellent basketball coach and he’s someone who, like a lot of coaches, has given his life to this game. I have the utmost respect for him.”
Head coaches around the league have lamented the Brown firing and expressed support for the former Kings head coach and Redick seems to share the sentiments as his colleagues. While Brown wasn’t perfect to begin the regular season, firing him only papers over the talent and depth issues Sacramento’s roster has.
Doug Christie took over as interim head coach for Brown, but it didn’t matter as the Lakers beat the Kings to sweep the regular season series. Firing a head coach is often a stop gap solution for teams looking to change things up, but Redick has fortunately been able to get his team back on track and shouldn’t worry about his job security.
JJ Redick believes Lakers can compete as currently constructed
There have been a lot of reports about potential trade targets for the Lakers as the sense around the league is they need a few meaningful upgrades to compete for a title. However, JJ Redick isn’t buying into that narrative as he believes the roster can compete as is.
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