About a month and a half after firing Darvin Ham, the Los Angeles Lakers finally have a new head coach in place. On Thursday, it was announced that they had hired JJ Redick and signed him to a four-year deal.
Redick had reportedly been their top candidate for the last few weeks, even though they made a brief and stunning attempt to lure Dan Hurley away from the University of Connecticut. Redick, who is about to turn 40 years of age, spent 15 seasons in the NBA as a 3-point specialist, but he has virtually no coaching experience of any kind.
Therefore, the Lakers reportedly want to add multiple former head coaches to his staff, apparently in order to ease his transition. One big candidate is Scott Brooks.
Via Los Angeles Times:
“The Lakers are expected to add multiple former head coaches to Redick’s staff, people with knowledge of staff recruitment said,” wrote Dan Woike. “Former Oklahoma City Thunder and Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks is a name that’s been linked to the Lakers.”
Brooks most notably coached the Oklahoma City Thunder for seven seasons, beginning with the 2008-09 campaign. He got them to the NBA Finals in 2012, and he has experience working with big-name stars, as he coached Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden there.
Former Lakers players Rajon Rondo and Jared Dudley had been previously mentioned as candidates for Redick’s staff, and it looks like that hasn’t changed.
Via The Athletic:
“Assistant coaching candidates for Redick’s staff will include former head coach and recent [Portland] Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks, former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo, ex-Laker and current Dallas Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley and Cassell, according to league sources,” wrote Shams Charnia and Sam Amick.
With the 2024 NBA draft less than a week away, the Lakers can soon turn their full attention to upgrading a roster that is playoff-caliber but not championship-caliber.