Once the Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with former head coach Darvin Ham, it seemed their sights were set on bringing in JJ Redick to lead their team. Although they did make an offer to University of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley, Redick was one of the most consistent names throughout the process.
So when the Lakers ultimately did hire Redick to become the head coach, it wasn’t much of a surprise. However, there were immediate critics of the hire. And most of the detractors focused on the fact that Redick has no previous professional coaching experience and that there were others more qualified than him to take on the role.
Redick had, for the most part, stayed quiet on this line of thinking. But he finally responded to those that say he skipped over more qualified candidates with a thoughtful response about what it means to be qualified, via The Lowe Post with ESPN’s Zach Lowe:
“In regards to skipping the line… I think there’s a little bit of a misconception around the idea of someone deserving something or someone not deserving something. Ultimately, it is an organization’s charge to find a coach that’s the right fit for that team and organization with whatever skill sets they may have. I would love for certain guys, some guys I played for, I would love for them to have the opportunity to become a head coach in the NBA. I brought this up earlier, there’s only 30 of us. It’s a very hard thing to do. There hasn’t been a moment that I haven’t felt an extreme level of gratitude, and yes, I feel lucky. I feel lucky I got this opportunity, but I know I deserve this opportunity as well. It’s not because I spent seven years as an assistant coach—it’s because I’ve worked my ass off on this craft of basketball for the last 32 years. And I’m in this position because of that, not because I skipped the line.”
Yes, it’s true that Redick has no professional coaching experience. But he has been around the NBA since he was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2006. He played for 15 seasons and immediately began a career as a broadcaster. There, he showed his level of knowledge of the game beyond just being a sharpshooter.
Perhaps there were candidates more qualified on paper to take over the head coaching position. But the Lakers clearly felt that Redick was the right fit to maximize this roster and the organization as it currently stands. Redick is grateful for that decision, but doesn’t apologize to anyone for being there.
JJ Redick: Lakers will empower Anthony Davis
Lakers star Anthony Davis typically flies under the radar when it comes to NBA awards with him never winning Defensive Player of the Year despite being among the best defenders in the league for the last decade being a prime example.
JJ Redick is partly responsible for that as a former media member that voted on those awards. He notably left Davis off his All-Defensive ballot completely, which definitely could have bothered the 31-year-old.
But Redick revealed that Davis didn’t even know the head coach didn’t have him on his All-Defensive ballot and that he wants to empower the star big man to win all the awards this season if he wants.
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