The JJ Redick Hire is Getting Way Too Much Hate
Yes, it’s really happening. The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring JJ Redick to be their next head coach even though he essentially has no real coaching experience on his resume. LeBron James will team up with his podcast co-host to try and capture his fifth ring. It’s easy to see how the Lakers have set themselves up for a lot of criticism considering the circumstances but I’m going to say it’s gotten a little too far. The Lakers hiring JJ Redick is getting way too much hate and although I’m likely in the minority, I actually like the move for the Lakers.
There’s a lot of skepticism around the hire and much of it is totally fair to bring up, especially around the clear lack of experience and influence of Lebron in the Lakers decision. What boggles my mind though is when people can’t fathom that JJ Redick can be a really good coach with no real reason to support this idea besides that he’s just a “podcaster”. Or that he wears hats backwards. All it takes is watching one of his “Mind the Game” episodes to understand the man knows ball. He not just knows it but lives and breathes the game. He has the crazy, sicko type of mentality about basketball that many are heralding Joe Mazzulla for. If you weren’t aware, Mazulla just won the NBA championship, by the way.
Now the Lakers roster isn’t perfect but it isn’t far off. Two top ten players in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis surrounded with talented scorers like Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell are only a couple of role-playing pieces away from being genuine threats even in the loaded Western Conference. JJ Redick has something to work with at least in the short-term and I really trust him to craft a team that plays smart, hard basketball.
In the last few years, it’s clear that JJ Redick has a strong personality who knows how to articulate his thoughts. The persona to be a leader of men is there and the unbelievable understanding of the modern game is most definitely present. There isn’t a glaring weakness besides his experience but all great coaches start have to somewhere so personally I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and believe in his supreme knowledge of the game proving people wrong. Although, I’m not sure he really cares about proving people wrong.
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