As the NBA world continues to react to head coach JJ Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round exit in five games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Fox Sports 1's Nick Wright zeroed in on their head coach's late-game execution. Many wonder if Redick's Lakers head coaching job is in jeopardy after losing in the opening round in his first year.

However, Wright's concerns for Redick remain in the first-year coach's headspace, as he explained in Fox Sports 1's First Things First.

“My concern about JJ when he was hired was I thought he's a little thin-skinned, a little smug, and a little online, and very aware of criticism and stuff, and those are things that could work against him,” Wright said. “I said I was worried when he hits his first rough patch, how's he going to deal with it? He did such a good job, he didn't really hit a rough patch until people were like that thing you did that no coach ever in the history of the league has done, you probably shouldn't have done it. And he got super pissed.”

Redick failed to make a single substitution in the Lakers' 116-113 Game 4 loss to the Timberwolves.

“JJ, throughout his entire basketball life, his intensity, his anxiety, has led to him not being at his best in the biggest spots,” Wright added. “That was true as a player at Duke when he was one of the best players in college basketball year after year on one of the best teams. And go check those NCAA tournament game logs, 4-for-18, 2-for-12. He was a great college player. Then, in the pros, he was a role player who ascended to a little more of that until the playoffs.”

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Nick Wright's advice for JJ Redick, Lakers

Lakers head coach JJ Redick talks with forward LeBron James (23) in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Former NBA player Paul Pierce delivered his Lakers' first-round exit take. However, Wright's focus on Lakers head coach JJ Redick's mental state is interesting considering it's a hurdle he's dealt with since his playing days.

“Unlike as a player, I think this is much more easily fixable because none of it is physical, it's all mental,” Wright added. “And I think he is so detail-oriented and such a professional, and so intense, that it can work against him, and I think for the entirety of his basketball life, in the biggest spots, it has.”

All eyes will be on Redick and the Lakers' offseason moves this summer.