After months of courting, the Los Angeles Lakers finally have a head coach in place as they’ve reportedly hired JJ Redick.
Redick was considered the frontrunner for the Lakers’ head coaching job since the onset of their search, but only just agreed to a deal following the conclusion of the 2024 NBA Finals. The organization signed Redick to a reported four-year deal worth $8 million annually, signaling their commitment to him to lead the team for the foreseeable future.
Redick’s lack of experience as a coach is his biggest red flag, though the plan seems to be to surround him with veteran coaches to help ease the transition from the broadcast booth to the sidelines.
There are still plenty of people who are skeptical that Redick is the right man for the job, but his former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski defended his ability to coach a team, via John Fanta of FOX Sports:
“I don’t say anything to them because what they say doesn’t make a damn bit of difference. To think any organization would hire anybody because of glamour or whatever is ridiculous. Every organization wants to win. If JJ gets a head coaching job it’ll be because that organization believes that JJ is the best person, the best coach to lead their organization. If as a competitor, or coach, player, whatever, we worried about what people said we’d go nuts. We should only worry about what we’re thinking and what our team is thinking about and then let’s go. Talk about what we’re doing, not what we might do. Even what we did because you keep learning, so I wouldn’t…that wouldn’t phase me at all and hasn’t phased me in my own career. You can’t do things because of what people are saying, you have to do things because of what you believe in and keep that well tight-knit group that you have.”
Kryzewski and Redick have a long and strong relationship and the former advised the Lakers during their head coaching search, so he has a better understanding of what the latter might look like in his new role. In a pool that lacked a big name, Redick represents the highest upside.
Mike Krzyzewski played role in Lakers’ pursuit of Dan Hurley
Los Angeles leaned on Mike Krzyzewski’s connections and relationships to vet several candidates. Aside from JJ Redick, the legendary Blue Devils head coach was also involved in the Lakers’ pursuit of UConn’s Dan Hurley.
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