When the Los Angeles Lakers ultimately decided to move on from head coach Darvin Ham, JJ Redick became an early favorite and eventually landed this gig despite having no NBA coaching experience. This marks a second straight gamble in hiring a first-time head coach for the Lakers.
However, this is not to say Redick is not knowledgeable, as he created successful podcasts and landed a job at ESPN as an analyst. Regardless, the point remains that he needs to cash in on a closing championship window with LeBron James entering his 22nd season and Anthony Davis rounding out his prime.
But when the decision to hire Redick became official, there was plenty of skepticism on whether he would flourish as a head coach, especially in a high-pressure situation like the Lakers. Someone who voiced his opinion is L.A. legend Shaquille O’Neal, who detailed some concerns he has with this hire, via The Big Podcast with Shaq:
“Oh yeah, I knew the whole time and first, let me say this. Because I wasn’t unaware until late, but it makes it look crazy that a guy with no experience can overshadow a guy like Sam Cassell, who’s been in the league 15 years, this and that. So let me just say that, no disrespect to JJ, but I think Sam should also be able to get the same looks. But I’m happy for JJ, lot of pressure, winning games will not be good enough. Expectation when you take that job, when you take the Miami Heat job, when you take a job where there’s a lot of talent, the expectation is to win championships. What kind of coach is he? I don’t know. I saw something funny on Instagram and said he was an assistant coach for a Brooklyn fourth grade girls team that’s his only coaching experience. For me as a player, if I didn’t respect the coach, it was easy for me to turn my 100% down. Let me explain, I’m going to give you 100% anyway, but if it’s a situation where I know we’re not going to go, hundreds are hard to maintain. That’s why when I play for a guy like a Phil Jackson, I already knew his resume, so I knew because I’ve sat there and watch him go to the Finals six times with Michael [Jordan] and win six times. So if he says stop doing this and do something else, I’m going to do it every time because he knows what he’s talking about. That’s why when I went to Miami, you play for a guy like Pat Riley, he says do something, you do it and it wins because I understand the resume. For a guy like me, who got all the blame when things didn’t go right, if you didn’t have that championship experience and I can question you, it was always hard for me to believe in you.”
O’Neal points out valid concerns regarding Redick’s stature as a first-timer who has not coached at an NBA level. An integral piece to Redick being able to succeed is to secure buy-in from every player on the roster on Day 1 because things can go south quickly if that is not the case.
Jaxson Hayes excited to work with new head coach JJ Redick
Head coaches need to develop relationships with their players and luckily, JJ Redick has one already established with Jaxson Hayes, who he played with during his stint with the New Orleans Pelicans. Hayes shared that he is excited to work with his former teammate and now head coach, which is certainly an interesting dynamic.
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