The JJ Redick era has officially begun for the Los Angeles Lakers. On Thursday, they reportedly agreed with him on a four-year deal, making him their new head coach.
Ever since Phil Jackson left in 2011, the Lakers have had a seemingly never-ending series of uninspiring head coaches. Frank Vogel did guide them to the NBA championship in 2020, but other than that, their coaches have been lackluster in one way or another.
Darvin Ham, Redick’s predecessor, was fired in part because he was lacking as a tactician. While Redick has virtually no coaching experience of any kind, the podcaster does seem to have a very bright mind for the game of basketball.
When he interviewed with the Lakers this past weekend, he gave some glimpses into the points of emphasis he will have for their offense.
Via The Athletic:
“He explained his decision-making process when it comes to strategy, how the analysis and empirical evidence would always guide his choices rather than preconceived notions or outdated beliefs,” wrote Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha. “Redick described a system molded around this roster, focusing on elevating Anthony Davis’ involvement, particularly late in games, and alleviating the constant ballhandling duties on James by utilizing him more off the ball. Keeping James, who turns 40 in December, fresh down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs will be critical.
“For these Lakers, Redick’s ability to access his stars in James and Davis could be seamless due to the stature he may bring as a respected former player, but how he unlocks the remainder of the roster and coaches top-down remains crucial to the job. Austin Reaves will surely be part of strong three-man attacks for the Lakers under Redick, who’ll be thrust into developing players such as Rui Hachimura, Max Christie and whomever the franchise drafts.
“During his meetings with [general manager Rob] Pelinka and his visit with Lakers ownership, Redick showed promise, team sources said.”
The Lakers haven’t done a good enough job of lessening James’ workload during the regular season. While he continued to play at an elite level this season, he has a finite amount of energy and high-level play left in his body.
Although Davis had arguably the best season of his career, the team was guilty of not getting him the ball enough in the fourth quarters of games, especially in its first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers have a good roster right now, but it isn’t a championship-caliber one. There is always the chance it looks very different when Redick guides the team through training camp in October.
