Jeanie Buss explains Lakers’ reasoning behind JJ Redick hire

Jeanie Buss explains Lakers’ reasoning behind JJ Redick hire

The Los Angeles Lakers had a pretty inactive offseason from a personnel perspective, but arguably the biggest move they made was hiring JJ Redick as the team’s head coach.

It was a bold move from Los Angeles, who fired head coach Darvin Ham after two disappointing seasons. After all, Redick had no coaching experience, though his charisma, basketball intellect and chemistry with star forward LeBron James put his name in the mix from the start.

Over two months after hiring him, Lakers governor Jeanie Buss explained the thought process behind the decision.

“We wanted to kind of think a different way,” Buss said on 570 Los Angeles, according to HoopsHype. “Really, he’s got a vision. I’m not comfortable talking about the basketball stuff, but we were looking for a candidate that would bring something different and really invest in developing young players.

“J.J. is the right person for us. Again, I just want to work to really speak for itself, so I don’t want to hype it and say it’s gonna be a home run. We have to give him time to establish what he wants to establish.“

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While it was rumored what Redick’s coaching staff would look like in late May–weeks before he was hired–his official coaching staff was disclosed in mid-July. His top assistants will be former Thunder and Bulls head coach Scott Brooks, former Hawks and Pacers head coach Nate McMillan plus Lindsey Harding, the reigning G-League Coach of the Year with the Stockton Kings (Sacramento Kings’ affiliate). That’s a lot of experience for Redick–who appears to be an innovative, receptive individual–to lean on.

Buss offered her thoughts on the new staff he put together.

“I’m really impressed with his staff,” she said. “There’s a lot of experience that will be there for him to make that adjustment to being a head coach. … He knows what this league is about and I think he’ll be a great leader.”

Redick’s tasked with bridging two timelines: Winning with superstar LeBron James, entering his age-40 season, while continuing to develop Lakers’ young talent in Austin Reaves, Max Christie, Maxwell Lewis and rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, among others.

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