After all’s said and done, JJ Redick is headed to the Los Angeles Lakers sideline, after all.
The former sharpshooter-turned-analyst has secured his first major head-coaching gig as the primary tactician for the Lakers. While his hiring has gotten varying reactions from different corners of the Lakers fandom, they will now have to rally behind the former Duke standout.
No one will deny Redick’s outstanding basketball mind. He’s shown time and time again that he has one of the most outstanding basketball minds in the public space, and him turning into a head coach was something of an inevitability.
However, everyone will agree that the Lakers hot seat is too big of a job for a head coach who doesn’t have a lick of professional coaching experience under his belt. One former Miami Heat great warns that bad times are ahead for the Purple and Gold in trusting a neophyte coach.
Udonis Haslem believes the Los Angeles Lakers won’t make the playoffs under JJ Redick
Udonis Haslem may not have had a statistically productive career like Redick’s, but he’s played under outstanding coaches in his 20-year NBA career. He understands what it takes to become a successful coach in the NBA.
In a recent Get Up appearance, Haslem was questioned if the Los Angeles Lakers did the right thing in hiring Redick. His response was an aggressive no.
Per The Spun’s Chris Rosvoglou:
“Hell no. And I love the Lakers and I love everything they got going on. But ain’t no way in hell that they go to the playoffs this year with that roster,” Haslem said. “JJ can draw up the annexation of Puerto Rico, it will not matter.”
Haslem went on to explain that he’s not throwing Redick under the bus. Instead, he explained that plenty of young coaches bring exciting offenses. A coach who hasn’t proven anything will be up against it.
Moreover, the Laker’s failure to acquire Dan Hurley from UConn leaves a bitter taste on everyone’s mouths. The knowledge that the Lakers actively pursued a winning coach before Redick will be a shadow that follows him throughout his stint in the City of Angels.
Whether JJ Redick turns the narrative around with LeBron James and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers is something we have to wait and see.
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