The Los Angeles Lakers could very well look considerably different this coming season under new head coach JJ Redick. Well, maybe not roster-wise, as their current roster is almost identical to the one they finished the 2024 NBA Playoffs with.
But Redick, who seems to be a bright, young offensive tactician, has already hinted at some of his plans for the team, at least offensively. When it took Dalton Knecht, a sharpshooter from the University of Tennessee, with the No. 17 pick in last month’s draft, he instantly started drawing up plays for the SEC Player of the Year.
Redick joined ESPN’s broadcast crew during the Lakers’ summer league game on Friday. He noted L.A.’s higher efficiency when running offensive sets versus playing what coaches call “random” basketball, which basically means players freelance, especially during the first half of the shot clock.
Redick said there will be more of the former this coming season.
“One thing we worked on was an early on system. One thing last year was they played random. When they played sets, they had a higher efficiency.
We have LeBron/AD, but we are gonna play with more movement and cutting.”
— Coach Redick.
(Throws shots at Ham’s lack of plays) pic.twitter.com/p1fRXUca0w— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) July 13, 2024
Some fans on social media interpreted this comment as a criticism of former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham’s lack of coaching acumen. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how much more precision and purpose the team’s offense will have.