It is looking more and more like former 3-point sniper JJ Redick is going to eventually be hired as the Los Angeles Lakers’ next head coach. He has become something of a polarizing figure during this coaching search for a number of reasons.
Redick has shown a strong feel for the game of basketball as a tactician, and he has displayed it as a member of ESPN’s NBA broadcast crew and while co-hosting the “Mind the Game” podcast with LeBron James.
On the other hand, he has virtually no coaching experience, not even as an assistant, not even at the collegiate level. Redick also has a reputation for being cocksure, to the point where he can come off as arrogant or even a bit heavy-handed when discussing the technical breakdown of basketball.
Adam Lefkoe, a host of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” and Shaquille O’Neal co-host on “The Big Podcast,” told Dan Patrick on “The Dan Patrick Show” that people around the NBA he has talked to want Redick to get a bit of a reality check.
"I have talked to a number of former NBA players… and they all want JJ to get it. They are not rooting against him, but they want him to get a taste. Because everyone thinks they can be a coach."
– Adam Lefkoe on what people around the NBA think of JJ Redick as a head coach. pic.twitter.com/Xj7pD4y26h
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 31, 2024
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in Redick from other teams when it comes to any type of coaching gig. Even if he has all the makings of a great head coach, starting off in charge of the Lakers and his friend James will be a rough and demanding way to begin his foray into coaching.