Tag: Lakers

JJ Redick confirmed as new Lakers coach

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Former NBA player JJ Redick  (Getty Images via AFP)

LOS ANGELES – Former NBA player-turned-pundit J.J. Redick says he is ready for the challenge of taking the Los Angeles Lakers back to the pinnacle of the NBA after being confirmed as the new head coach of the 17-time champions.

Redick, who spent 15 years in the NBA as a player before joining ESPN in 2021 as an analyst, was formally unveiled on Monday as the successor to Darvin Ham, who was fired following the Lakers’ first-round playoff defeat to Denver.

Redick’s appointment to such a high-profile position, which was first reported last week, has raised eyebrows across the NBA given his lack of coaching experience.

The 40-year-old analyst acknowledged those concerns in remarks to reporters on Monday, admitting his emergence as a contender for the Lakers job had been “surreal.”

“This process has been surreal to say the least,” Redick said, before thanking the Lakers for “entrusting me in this position.”

“I take this responsibility very seriously,” Redick said. “I have never coached in the NBA before. I don’t know if you guys have heard that.”

The Lakers finished the regular season with a 47-35 record but were unable to threaten Denver in the opening round of the playoffs.

Redick said he was under no illusions about the scale of the rebuilding task before him.

“I know what the expectations are,” Redick said. “Lakers fans have some of the most passionate fans around the world. And the expectation is a championship.

“So that’s my job. It’s our staff’s job … It’s on all of us to to deliver a championship-caliber team.”

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said Redick had been appointed after a “thoughtful and thorough search process.”

“J.J. is a fierce competitor and has an extraordinary basketball IQ and understanding of the modern game that will energize players and excite fans,” Pelinka said.

“He brings an intense dedication to innovation, advancing the game and staying at the forefront of an ever-evolving league…this is an exciting time for Lakers basketball.”

Media reports say Redick has been appointed on a four-year deal.

It came after the Lakers were rejected by highly rated University of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley, who opted to remain in college basketball.

Redick has a close relationship with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, with whom he co-hosts a podcast, and the Lakers are clearly hoping that bond will help turn the team back into title contenders.



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During his NBA playing career, Redick averaged 12.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game over 940 contests from 2006-2021 with Orlando, Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia and New Orleans.

Lakers hiring JJ Redick as their new head coach

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Former NBA player JJ Redick is reported to be the next head coach for Los Angeles Lakers. Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images/AFP 

LOS ANGELES — JJ Redick is being hired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the Lakers hadn’t yet publicly announced the decision to hire the former guard for his first coaching job.

The 39-year-old Redick is an extraordinary choice by the Lakers, who hired a 15-year veteran with absolutely no coaching experience to lead a franchise with 17 NBA titles, one of the biggest brand names in world sports — and LeBron James, the top scorer in league history.

READ: NBA: Lakers with public coaching search in hopes of pleasing LeBron

Redick was a proficient outside shooter for six teams before his retirement in September 2021, when he moved into a career in broadcasting and podcasting. He joined ESPN’s lead commentary team earlier this year.

ESPN first reported the decision.

Before Redick finished broadcasting the NBA Finals, he met with the Lakers last weekend and apparently did well enough to end the franchise’s lengthy coaching search. Less than two weeks after UConn coach Danny Hurley turned down the Lakers’ ardent advances, Redick has accepted the job in a remarkable three-year journey from the court to the broadcast booth to the Lakers’ bench.

Redick replaces Darvin Ham, who was fired May 3 despite leading the Lakers to two playoff berths and a Western Conference finals appearance in 2023.

Redick began recording a regular podcast with James two months ago, and their “Mind the Game” collaboration is already wildly popular, with listeners often emerging impressed by the duo’s basketball acumen and high-level discussion of tactics and motivation.

READ: JJ Redick installed as favorite to become 76ers next coach

Now these two minds will be working together for the Lakers, with Redick leading a roster headlined by LeBron, who is six months younger than Redick.

Everything is contingent on James deciding to return to play with Anthony Davis and the Lakers, of course. James, who will enter his 22nd NBA season this fall, could decline his $51.4 million contract option this month to become a free agent.

But hiring Redick seems to be another calculated move by the Lakers to maximize their chances of keeping the 20-time All-Star and the driving force behind their 2020 championship team.

Redick’s coaching experience is limited to his children’s youth teams, but he has been around the game his entire life. He is the leading scorer in the history of Duke, where he played four seasons under Mike Krzyzewski.

And though Redick is an unorthodox choice, his unlikely ascent is not without some precedent in Lakers lore and recent NBA history.

Pat Riley was a broadcaster for the Lakers in November 1979 when Paul Westhead took over as their head coach after Jack McKinney nearly died in a bicycle accident. Westhead hired Riley as an assistant without coaching experience, and Riley became the Lakers’ head coach in late 1981 after Westhead clashed with Magic Johnson.

Riley promptly led the Lakers to four championships in the 1980s to begin his incredible career as a coach and executive.

And then there’s Steve Kerr, the former shooting guard and Phoenix Suns executive who had never coached before he took over at Golden State in 2014. Kerr has led Stephen Curry’s Warriors to four championships and six NBA Finals appearances in the past decade.

Redick’s arrival ends another unusual offseason coaching search for owner Jeanie Buss, general manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers, who are hiring their eighth head coach since Phil Jackson’s final departure in 2011, and their fourth since James arrived as a free agent in 2018.

Los Angeles needed six weeks to settle on Ham in the summer of 2022, but the longtime assistant coach was dismissed after the Lakers lost to defending champion Denver in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Ham led the Lakers to two winning seasons and a victory in the inaugural In-Season Tournament last year, but many fans and observers — and, clearly, the Lakers’ front office — were not impressed by his leadership or preparation.

Davis memorably said during the playoffs that the Lakers “have stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor.”



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The Lakers hired Ham after firing Frank Vogel, who had been fired exactly 18 months after he won a title in the Florida bubble. Vogel replaced Luke Walton after another long coaching search in which the Lakers were widely reported to have wanted Tyronn Lue, only for a deal to fall apart over issues with money and control.