The Los Angeles Lakers are in the market for a head coach after parting ways with Darvin Ham this past season. A buzzword that has been used during this search is experience, and it makes sense given the circumstances, as LeBron James and Anthony Davis are on the team. Someone who is behind that idea is former NBA player Rasheed Wallace, who almost became a part of Ham’s coaching staff when first hired.
However, this coaching market is not particularly strong and possesses a ton of experience, which could be a bit worrisome for whoever is ultimately hired. Given that James will be 40 years old in December and Davis is in the prime of his career, there is little room for error, so winning at the highest level needs to be the priority.
A notion that Wallace agrees with, James and Davis’ championship window does not have much time left, which is why the one-time champion believes L.A. needs to bring in a veteran head coach this summer via Owen Crisafulli of Basketball Network:
“You gonna need a veteran coach,” Wallace said on Sheed and Tyler. “You dealing with the main veteran in (LeBron James) who gotta win now. The window is looking…real thin. He’s trying to win now, then you got another veteran with (Anthony Davis), and he’s trying to win now, so then that way, it’ll be less on his body later on. I think they need a veteran players coach.”
Every season is championship or bust for the Lakers, especially now, given this duo’s limited time left. But ESPN analyst JJ Redick seems to be deemed the frontrunner for this vacancy, resulting in mixed opinions across the league.
Given that general manager Rob Pelinka fired Darvin Ham because his lack of experience hurt him this past season, hiring Redick raises those same concerns and contradicts what Wallace said. Then again, there are not many proven head coaches available right now, so taking a risk on Reddick, someone no one has seen on a bench, is something Pelinka will be willing to do to build for the present and the future.
Rasheed Wallace believes LeBron James would not have done as well in previous era
A popular debate in basketball involves comparing different eras and which superstars would perform well in each era of the NBA. Wallace expressed his opinion on this by saying James would not have done well in previous eras.
