One of the main subplots revolving around the Los Angeles Lakers' offseason to this point was their search for the team's new head coach. Darvin Ham got the ax following a first-round exit for the Lakers against the Denver Nuggets, and since then, it became clear that the franchise was setting its sights on naming JJ Redick as the team's next head coach, aside from that one week or so when the Lakers were pulling out all the stops in convincing Dan Hurley to leave UConn amid their quest for a third straight national championship.
Every head coaching job in the NBA is difficult. There is always plenty of coaching turnover, even when teams are successful — just ask JB Bickerstaff, who was sacked despite leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. But the Lakers gig is a different kind of pressure cooker. With the Lakers having one of the biggest fanbases in the association, the media coverage surrounding the team is also as extensive as it can get; praise is loud, but criticism is deafening when things head south. Moreover, coaching LeBron James always comes with the pressure of delivering results.
Nonetheless, JJ Redick knew all of that coming in and still relishes the opportunity to coach the Lakers. After all, he wants to experience the thrill of the pressure that comes with competing against the best of the best under the blinding spotlight in Los Angeles.
“I felt a calling to coach. Part of that is that I'm just a sicko, and I'm a masochist, and I want to sign up for high stakes, high pressure,” Redick said, per Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation.
Indeed, it takes some kind of mental fortitude to be able to deal with the emotional strain that comes with taking on the Lakers head coaching job. Aside from the obvious lack of job security, the Lakers fanbase can be very toxic to deal with when the results aren't going the Purple and Gold's way. But JJ Redick's admission of his basketball masochism should make him the right fit for the job.
Can JJ Redick figure it out quickly for a Lakers team that is running out of time?
At the very least, JJ Redick will have the buy-in of James. Redick and James, during their short-lived collaboration on the Mind The Game podcast, showed that they can get on the same page when it comes to reading the game. James also respects Redick's knowledge level of the game. Redick, to his credit, is also a quick learner and an eager hard-worker, who, as one of the best sharpshooters in his heyday, does everything in his power to perfect his craft.
But most importantly, Redick knows that he's right where he belongs. And he will be fighting to stay where he is with everything he's got.
“The other is in my retirement, I realize what gives me fulfillment and what gives me drive and motivation, and that's competition. That's performance. That's collaboration, being part of a team. I certainly felt all of that doing media,” Redick added.
JJ Redick is not the first retired sharpshooter to accept a head coaching job for a team wanting to compete in the Western Conference straight out of the commentary booth on national television. But can Redick make a similar impact for the Lakers to that of how Steve Kerr turned things around for the Golden State Warriors in 2014?
In 2014, the Warriors were not major players in free agency. They brought back the core members of their 2013-14 team, and yet with a complete overhaul of the team's tactics, they improved from being a first-round exit to winning a championship. That, however, may be too tall of a task for the Lakers to accomplish.
For one, LeBron James is going to turn 40 years old by the end of December. The Lakers also may not have the enough number of 3-and-D players that's necessary to win four playoff rounds in today's NBA. As the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks showed, having an elite perimeter defense with players who can cover a ton of ground is a must. The Lakers may be lacking in that department.
There is still time, however, for the Lakers to add players who could be of help to them in that regard. They may be linked with every star that becomes available on the trade market, but they might be better off trading for a 3-and-D wing with size. Players who fit that archetype are De'Andre Hunter and Dorian Finney-Smith, to name a few.
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