Ever since Anthony Davis joined the Los Angeles Lakers, there has been discussion of him eventually taking over as the team’s primary offensive weapon. Especially now, as LeBron James is in the twilight of his career, many are looking for Davis to truly become that alpha on the offensive end of the court, and new head coach JJ Redick will apparently be looking to make that happen.
With no prior head coaching experience, Redick’s philosophy isn’t known to the general public, but he obviously went into detail when interviewing with the Lakers. Redick is looking to make Davis the centerpiece of the offense.
According to Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Redick’s offensive system will be focused on elevating Davis’ involvement, especially down the stretch of games:
Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the meeting described Redick as “impressive” during his visit to Los Angeles, diving deep into his offensive and defensive philosophies and displaying his passion for the sport that foreshadowed a willingness to submit himself to the countless working hours for the modern head coach.
He explained his decision-making process when it comes to strategy, how the analysis and empirical evidence would always guide his choices rather than preconceived notions or outdated beliefs. Redick described a system molded around this roster, focusing on elevating Anthony Davis’ involvement, particularly late in games, and alleviating the constant ballhandling duties on James by utilizing him more off the ball. Keeping James, who turns 40 in December, fresh down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs will be critical.
Because LeBron is so in control of things on the court and has such a high basketball IQ, the end of games often just saw him with the ball in his hands, dribbling down the clock until he made a decision on what to do. This often left Davis out, even as he often showed to be the Lakers’ best offensive weapon.
If Redick can implement a system in which crunch time doesn’t just delve into 1-on-1, it will significantly help the Lakers, who often struggled to get good looks late. Getting LeBron more off the ball would be ideal, especially as the Lakers do have others like Davis and Austin Reaves who can create for themselves and others. LeBron having another 40% 3-point shooting year would also make his being off the ball more sensible.
Overall, Redick as a head coach remains a big unknown, but the ideas being floated around are promising and could greatly help the Lakers succeed next year if implemented and run properly.
Anthony Davis spoke with JJ Redick before Lakers hiring
With LeBron James’ career winding down, Anthony Davis will soon be the face of the franchise, and the Lakers understand that. As such, Davis was very much kept in the loop throughout the team’s head coaching search.
A recent report noted that Davis spoke with JJ Redick on the phone before the Lakers hiring him as their next head coach, adding that the franchise prioritized Davis’ voice and made sure he understood the overall vision.
