The Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with head coach Darvin Ham after another disappointing season. Ham had a lot of talent to work with while he was the head coach of the Lakers, but besides a surprisingly deep run in the 2023 NBA playoffs, his time in Los Angeles was a disappointment. The Lakers made it the Western Conference Finals last year as the seven seed, but this year, they failed to make it past the first round. Now, Los Angeles needs to find a new head coach, and a lot of people think that JJ Redick could be the guy.
After the way that things went with Darvin Ham, someone who had no prior NBA head coaching experience, it's a bit of a surprise to see JJ Redick mentioned as a potential candidate for the Lakers head coaching job. Redick's playing career in the NBA just ended back in 2021, and he has no coaching experience.
Still, it seems like Redick could be very well end up being the guy for the Lakers. Chris Haynes recently appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, and he sounds pretty convinced that Redick will end up getting the job.
“I will be surprised if [the Lakers] next head coach is anybody but JJ Redick. Everything that I'm hearing is JJ Redick,” Chris Haynes said. “From what I know, he’s doing some background, calling some assistant coaching candidates who might be able to join his staff or might not be able to join his staff. So, yeah, I'm pretty positive that it'll be JJ.”
Redick doesn't have any coaching experience, but Haynes noted that moves like this have been made in the past, and some have worked out very well. Still, it won't be easy for Redick if he is the next head coach of the Lakers.
“We've seen coaches getting those kind of opportunities,” Haynes said. “Steve Nash got a great opportunity as his first head coaching gig, Jason Kidd the same thing, Derek Fisher, Steve Kerr, look at what Steve Kerr turned out to be. Jason Kidd is a win away from leading his team to the NBA Finals. It's had some success, but that's a tough job to take. It's just a tough job to take, I mean, it's LeBron James. I understand JJ and LeBron get along well, they have a podcast, that's a tough job to accept. Under Rob Pelinka's tenure, he has fired Luke Walton, Frank Vogel and he's fired Darvin Ham. So, he's safe. If anyone is gonna get some blame, it's going to be the head coach. There's high expectations with that team, as there should be any time you have a team with LeBron James, on top of that being the Los Angeles Lakers.”
Some people don't think that JJ Redick is right for the job
Because of his lack of coaching experience, there are people that don't think JJ Redick is ready to be an NBA head coach. Byron Scott is one of those people.
“Ask Steve Nash, you know what I mean, no coaching experience,” Byron Scott said. “To me if you really want to be a head coach in the NBA you got to sit behind the bench because that six inches over is a huge decision to make. But being on the bench and kind of seeing everything that’s happening out there, seeing the coaches, giving you advice, listening to the head coaches and other assistant coaches is invaluable, you know, but coming out of the streets just jumping in on that seat, that’s a hot seat, and it’s even hotter here in LA.”
We'll find out who the guy will be for the Lakers soon, but Chris Haynes sounds confident that it will be Redick.
Follow Us
Subscribe