After two seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to fire head coach Darvin Ham. The Lakers had a winning record in both years and did not miss the postseason. However, getting swept by Denver in the 2024 postseason was enough to get Ham fired. Since then, Los Angeles has been searching for their new head coach.
One name that sticks out among the rest is ESPN analyst JJ Redick. He’s never held a coaching position in the NBA at any level but is being considered for the Lakers job. It’s quite remarkable. Redick has a chance to land one of the most coveted jobs in the NBA without any past coaching experience at the professional level. According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Lakers are “infatuated” with Redick and believe he has “Pat Riley-like” potential. Certainly high praise for someone who’s never coached in the NBA before.
Is JJ Redick ultimately the candidate that the Lakers will hire to be their new head coach?
The Lakers reportedly think JJ Redick has ‘Pat Riley-like’ potential, per @jovanbuha & @ShamsCharania
“Leaguewide, Redick — a former player and media analyst — has garnered buzz for the position. The Lakers are infatuated with Redick’s potential, according to league sources,… pic.twitter.com/geZK3JexhV
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 21, 2024
In the 2011 NBA Draft, JJ Redick was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic. Over his 15-year career, Redick played for six different franchises. He started his final season with the Pelicans in 2020-21 before he was traded to the Mavericks. Since his playing time has been over, JJ Redick has dived into the NBA media landscape as an analyst. He currently works for ESPN as a studio and live-game analyst. Redick is part of ESPN’s a-team broadcast this season that will call the 2024 NBA Finals. It features Mike Breen, Dorris Burke, and himself.
NBA insider Shams Charania detailed how the Lakers are seriously interested in Redick becoming their next head coach. He says the Lakers are “infatuated” with Redick. They see “Pat Riley-like” potential in him. That’s incredibly high praise for Redick. However, Pat Riley is a legend of the NBA and has had prolonged success in his career. As a player, coach, and executive, Pat Riley has won nine NBA Championships. As of the 2023 NBA Finals, Riley had been part of 25% of the NBA Finals in league history. Truly incredible.
“The Lakers have formally begun their coaching interview process, I’m told they’ve had meetings with JJ Redick, James Borrego, Sam Cassell—those are three leading targets right now.”@ShamsCharania updates on the Lakers head coaching search
📺: https://t.co/oxMs3CA6QW pic.twitter.com/cUwbTsIydV
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 21, 2024
Along with working for ESPN, JJ Redick does a basketball podcast with LeBron James. He just so happens to be the Lakers’ star player. During this process, James made it clear that he is staying out of the Lakers’ heading coaching decision. Los Angeles would be taking a huge risk by hiring JJ Redick. Coaches get hired without previous head coaching experience. We’ve seen that before. However, JJ Redick has zero coaching experience at all in the NBA. The Lakers truly have no idea if Redick is fit to be their next head coach. They would have to hire him and take the chance to find out.
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