Former NBA journeyman JJ Redick has made quite the post-playing career for himself. He's an analyst for ESPN and runs a successful basketball podcast called “The Old Man and the Three.” But just how close was he to giving all that up to come and join the Boston Celtics coaching staff?

There were rumblings of Redick going to Boston last year, and it turns out that they were well-founded. Redick had Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla on his podcast and spoke about how he was nearly recruited to come to Beantown over a round of golf, via TheOldMan&TheThree on X (formerly Twitter).

“I get a call from Brad [Stevens]. You had been named interim head coach. And you happen to join the [golf] foursome and try and convince me to join the staff,” Redick recalled to Mazzulla. “And I feel like most of that four-hour round and the subsequent lunch was us talking about what my role would be.”

Ultimately, Redick didn't take the Celtics offer, as he was prioritizing his family and not in the right headspace to coach. Mazzulla initially thought he had Redick, however, his hopes were soon dashed by a single question:

“At first I thought we had a chance at getting you,” Mazzulla told Redick. “And then we go through the clubhouse to walk out and you're like, ‘so when does training camp start?' And I was like Monday. And it was Friday so I was like: ‘This guy put all this thought into wanting to coach and he doesn't even know when the season starts.'”

Mazzulla and Redick laughed about the whole ordeal and are still on two different paths. Redick will get ready for another year with ESPN, while Mazzulla is prepping the Celtics for the upcoming 2023-24 season.