JJ Redick has signed a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers to become their next head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Redick succeeds Darvin Ham, who coached the team for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons.
Redick is the 29th head coach in Laker history, and he will join such greats like John Kundla, Bill Sharman, Pat Riley, and Phil Jackson in the Laker coaching tree, all of whom enjoyed sweet success in Los Angeles. Mike Dunleavy Sr., too, led the Lakers to a championship berth in 1991, and Naismith Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovic, better known for his back-to-back titles in Houston in 1994 and 1995, coached the Lakers for one season, 2004-2005.
Redick is now at the helm of a team that has expectations, lofty ones which is always the case in Laker land. LeBron James is 40 years old next season, Anthony Davis is a 30-year-old multiple time all-star, and the team made the Western Conference Finals just one year ago in 2023. There will be some changes heading into next season, and questions, like whether guard D’Angelo Russell will be back.
All of this provides the pressure for Redick. He is a first year coach with no experience, but the roster and expectation indicates and warrants being competitive.
This is the dilemma with the Lakers - an experienced roster with an inexperienced coach. Such a dynamic has succeeded in the past, one example being Larry Bird when he took over the Indiana Pacers’ job in 1997. One of Bird’s assistants was Dick Harter, who was a 14-year NBA assistant prior to joining Bird’s staff. Harter stayed through the end of Bird’s tenure in 2000. The Pacers took the Chicago Bulls to seven games in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, and made the Finals in 2000.
There is no doubt that the Lakers will surround Redick with competent, veteran assistants. With James also being such a veteran presence, it makes the hire seem less of an headscratcher.
Redick is someone that James likes and respects, which was surely a factor in the Rob Pelinka offering Redick the deal on Thursday morning.
Still, the pressure is there. With every mipstep, if there are many, it will mount. And while James is the leader, a lot of the questions, if the Lakers do encounter rough patches, will fall to Redick.
How he will handle it is the question.
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