JJ Redick was officially announced as the Los Angeles Lakers new head coach on Monday. Ever since Redick was linked to the position, there has been criticism thrown his way. Of course, the fact that he's never coached in the NBA made him an easy target. But now that Redick is the head coach of the Lakers he had an opportunity to respond while speaking to reporters during his introductory press conference.
Redick was asked if he wants to prove any misconceptions wrong, and he issued a brutally honest response, via Mark Medina.
“It's a valid question,” Redick said. “And I've certainly heard everything. It's been a really interesting six weeks or so… However, I don't really have a great answer for your question because I really don't give a f**k… I want to coach the Lakers, I want to coach the team. I don't want to dispel anything, I don't. I want to become a great coach in the NBA and I want to win championships. And I want my players to maximize their careers. That's all I f**king care about.”
Redick's first head coaching job in the NBA will be a challenge. Los Angeles is a big market and Redick will be under a microscope. Nevertheless, the new Lakers head coach is clearly prepared for everything this opportunity will bring.
JJ Redick's LeBron James admission
Redick and LeBron James started a podcast called “Mind the Game” this past season. The podcast immediately led to rumors about Redick potentially becoming LA's next head coach. Redick said he will not be doing podcasts anymore since he's now an NBA head coach, and he also denied speaking to LeBron about the position until he was offered the job, via Darren M. Haynes.
“He (LeBron) didn't provide any advice,” Redick said. “LeBron and I did not talk about the Lakers job until Thursday afternoon, about 30 minutes after I was offered the job. And that was very intentional on both our parts… I had an understanding that he did not want to be involved in this. For me, I didn't want to go down the path of hypotheticals with someone that I consider a friend and someone that I have a great amount of respect for.
“For us, it just came down to literally Thursday afternoon. I talked to him for about 15, 20 minutes and got off the phone. That was it.”
So what about the team's previous pursuit of Dan Hurley? Hurley ultimately turned down the Lakers head coaching job to remain at UConn. Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka addressed LA's pursuit of Hurley and how Redick fit into the conversation, via CJ Fogler.
“From the start, (Redick) was in our Plan A pool of coaches that we were really interested in exploring,” Pelinka said. “I think the most important thing is that throughout the process, JJ and I had direct and sort of constant communication to keep each other in the loop with what he was going through with his previous job with the NBA Finals.”
Pelinka then explained that he let Redick know updates about the Lakers' head coaching search.
“I think looking back to how transparent we were with one another, even in the midst of stuff going on in the media, I think it actually solidified our confidence and belief in working together.”
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