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Former longtime NBA shooting guard JJ Redick, who has no prior coaching experience in the league, was introduced as the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Redick, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday, replaces Darwin Hamm, who was fired in May after two seasons with the Lakers.
“I have zero coaching experience in the NBA, but I would argue that I’m very experienced and it started 22 years ago when I went to Duke and I got a chance to play for Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) for four years, Spent 15 years as an (NBA) player,” he said.
Redick said the past three years – in which he has worked as a podcaster and ESPN analyst – have been invaluable in his preparation.
“Being able to connect with players, talk to them on the podcast, be involved in coaching interviews with ESPN calling games, analyzing games in three different formats. All of this has helped prepare me to be an NBA head coach,” he said.
Redick played 15 seasons in the league for six teams before becoming an NBA analyst for ESPN in 2021.
Asked by a reporter if he had heard any misconceptions or concerns about himself during the recruiting process in recent weeks that he felt needed to be addressed, Redick was candid. “It’s a legitimate question, and I’ve certainly heard everything. …However, I don’t really have a great answer to your question because I don’t really know anything about it. Like honesty,” he said. “I want to coach the Lakers. I want to coach the team. “I don’t want to finish anything… I want to be a great coach in the NBA.”
The person who hired Redick said he was always on their A-list.
“It was very clear that he had a unique perspective and philosophy on basketball and how to teach it,” Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said at a press conference.
Pelinka said that he and Redick “shared a basketball philosophy that was very similar and it was based on high-level strategy, a certain way of communicating with players and teaching them” as well as “player development.” It was based on giving priority.
Redick indicated he would like to see Lakers star forward and NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James take more threes after shooting better than 40% this season, but he still needs to have a conversation with James.
“You definitely have to get involved and talk to him about how he wants to play,” Redick said. “It’s really just figuring out the half-court, putting him in different spots as both a scorer and a facilitator.”
Redick co-hosts a basketball podcast with James. But it’s unclear whether they’ll get to coach James, who will have the option to exercise his contract option in five days or move on next season.
James has not directly addressed his future with the team or whether he will return for his 22nd NBA season.
On April 30, James posted on X, “I’ve seen and heard a lot of reports about our future. I said it last night and I’ll say it again. I don’t know yet because I’m only thinking about spending time with my family and friends!
“You guys will know when I talk to the family, after I have my advice, as well as my representation about it.”
Redick said he sees nine-time All-Star center Anthony Davis as the “hub” of the team next season so the Lakers can maximize his abilities. He said he had talked to Davis about a week earlier about his thoughts about Davis’ roles on offense and defense.
“I think we both felt really comfortable moving forward as a starting point of how he’s going to play on this team,” Redick said.
This is not the first time that the Lakers have hired someone with no coaching experience to guide the team: in 1994 when the team was struggling, owner Jerry Buss put Magic Johnson in charge for the final 16 games. and they posted a record of 5–11. Before resigning and becoming a part-owner.
Earlier this month, University of Connecticut men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley turned down his then-vacant head coaching position to the Lakers in order to pursue a third consecutive national title and remain with the Huskies.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers offered the coach of the reigning back-to-back NCAA champion Huskies a six-year, $70 million contract.
Redick said he has no problem with the Lakers pursuing Hurley.
“At no point were my ego or feelings hurt in any way,” he said. “Dan Hurley is a two-time national champion at UConn. I am a two-time 55 Swiss league champion in the third and fourth tier divisions – as I understand it.
Last season, Los Angeles missed the playoffs in five games, losing to the then-champion Denver Nuggets for the second consecutive postseason.
The Lakers currently have the 17th selection in Thursday’s 2024 NBA Draft.
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