After a long process, the Los Angeles Lakers have finally made the decision to hire JJ Redick as the franchise’s next head coach. It is certainly a huge risk to hire someone with no coaching experience at any major level, but Redick’s basketball IQ and work ethic are not in question.
This is far from the first time someone has gotten an NBA head coaching job without prior experience, but doing so in the high-pressure situation of the Lakers is at another level. Redick has really wanted to do this and is ready for the challenge.
According to Sam Amick, Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Redick ‘badly’ wanted to become an NBA head coach and is embracing everything that comes with this next phase of his basketball life:
League sources briefed on Redick’s mindset say he badly wants to make the jump to NBA head coach and embrace the challenges the chair brings as he believes it is the natural transition of his basketball life.
One thing that seems certain is that Redick will dive completely into this Lakers coaching job and all of the day-to-day work that comes with it. Being a head coach is a ton of work, and while Redick will certainly surround himself with an excellent staff to help alleviate certain things, there will be a lot on his shoulders, and he is ready to bear that.
From his playing days, Redick has been known as an extreme competitor, and that mindset will help him in this journey. He will not settle for being okay; he wants to be the best possible coach he can be and is going to do everything possible to make that happen.
Inheriting a Lakers team with a superstar duo like LeBron James and Anthony Davis will certainly help things as well. But there is little doubt that the Lakers will get everything out of Redick he has to give.
Multiple former head coaches expected to be on JJ Redick’s Lakers coaching staff
As is normally the case with a first-time head coach, getting an experienced coaching staff is imperative to help navigate everything that comes with being a coach in the NBA. And the Lakers are expected to add multiple former head coaches to JJ Redick’s staff.
So far, the only name being mentioned as a potential addition to Redick’s staff that fits that mold is former Thunder and Wizards head coach Scott Brooks, who is currently a top assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Other names that have been mentioned as possible additions but aren’t former head coaches include former Lakers player and current Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley and former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo.