The JJ Redick era is now officially underway for the Los Angeles Lakers. On Monday, they held a press conference to officially introduce him as their new head coach, and there is at least the promise that he will become a good one.
But one potential major negative is the fact that he has virtually no coaching experience. Perhaps as a result, there has been plenty of talk that he and the Lakers want to fill his coaching staff with at least one man who has previously been a head coach.
Redick confirmed that during an interview with John Ireland, the Lakers’ radio play-by-play broadcaster. But he also said he wants some young assistants on his staff as well.
JJ Redick on what he would like his coach staff to look like… pic.twitter.com/Yyvx6svlrQ
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“I will have the say of who our coaching staff is. But that doesn’t mean Rob [Pelinka] and I are not collaborating on literally every single position. … We are completely aligned in that the front of bench should have experience. We definitely want at least a couple former head coaches in the NBA there. Behind the bench, we want young, hungry, innovative, fresh self-doers, self-motivated — that’s what we want behind the bench, and there’s gotta be that balance.”
One experienced candidate that has been mentioned is Scott Brooks, who spent 12 seasons as an NBA head coach, most notably with the Kevin Durant-led Oklahoma City Thunder. As far as young candidates, Rajon Rondo and Jared Dudley, both of whom played for the Lakers when they won it all in 2020, could be considered.