The Los Angeles Lakers’ long and winded search for a new head coach is finally over. After their embarrassing attempt to lure Dan Hurley away from the UConn Huskies, they finally handed JJ Redick the keys to the Purple and Gold kingdom.
Everyone knows that Redick is a brilliant basketball mind. From his podcasts to his expert analysis and commentary, everyone could see that Redick coaching an NBA team was more a matter of when than if.
However, many believe that the Lakers head coaching job is too big a gig for a former player without an ounce of serious professional coaching experience outside his son’s AAU teams. Some even boldly declared that the Lakers wouldn’t sniff the playoffs with Redick at the helm.
While some may clown on Jeanie Buss’ decision to hire the former journeyman sharpshooter, an insider revealed one relevant reason why Redick was trusted to take the Lakers back to the top and get even on their championship banner contest with the Boston Celtics.
Shams Charania reveals that JJ Redick was always the top choice for the Los Angeles Lakers
Shams Charania appeared at The Rally to discuss Redick’s hiring as the new Lakers head coach. The show’s hosts questioned whether Redick was indeed the guy all along or if Hurley was the guy they really wanted all along.
Charania explained that ever since the Lakers GM Rob Pelinka met with Redick during the 2024 NBA Draft Combine, he’s always been the team’s top choice for head coach.
“JJ Redick has been their guy for the last month. They have high hopes, high visions for him,” he explained.
He went on to say that the Lakers loved his status as a former player and his high basketball intelligence as his biggest assets for the job. However, he also noted that other aspects of coaching aside from the X’s and O’s will be something many NBA fans will be looking at.
“Dealing with adversity that comes in the season, dealing with adversity in the locker room, deal with all the things that come into coaching that have nothing to do with schemes, with loving the game… I think everyone knows as a basketball junkie, JJ Redick fits that mold and he’s gonna work tirelessly. The question is gonna be about the adversity that happens in an 82-game regular season.”
Whether Redick would be able to prove the doubters wrong is something he can only address when he leads the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024-25 season.
For More Content
Message me at [email protected] for questions and opportunities. For more basketball content, click here!
