Lakers have been on the hunt recently trying to find a replacement head coach. News broke a few weeks ago that they let Coach Darvin Ham go. Coach Ham had been coaching the Los Angeles Lakers for two seasons. Prior to Ham, was Frank Vogel, who had been the Lakers head coach for three seasons. Vogel brought the Lakers it’s 17th title. Ham hadn’t been a stranger to success as he had a positive record and brought the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last year. This year they fell short, and it seems the Lakers organization and faithful fans believe it’s the right move to be looking for a new head coach going into next season.
Lakers Interested with JJ Redick in Head Coach Search
Extensive Head Coach Search
There is going to be an extensive search throughout the off-season for that new head coach spot. Throughout the many reports after having Coach Ham be dismissed, is the repetitive report around JJ Redick. It appears the Lakers are prepping for that scenario and will likely sit down and talk with JJ Redick in the future. It seems they are intrigued with Redick potentially being the replacement of Darvin Ham.
“Their search is going to ramp up this coming week, I’m told. Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office, you can expect them to start calling for permission to talk to coaches around the league and some assistants. But one name that the Lakers have been drilling down on in their initial search here is JJ Redick. He is certainly somebody that the Lakers are intrigued with. They’ve been making a lot of calls to try to learn more about him. But expect this to be a wide-ranging and a lengthy search for LA,” according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Lakers seem to be very interested in JJ Redickhttps://t.co/QK1t2IIHU9
— Fadeaway World (@FadeawayWorld) May 12, 2024
Redick’s Background
Redick played in the NBA for several teams in 15 seasons. Redick has never been a coach at a high level, but has coached his son’s basketball teams. His high IQ, basketball experience, and knowledge can absolutely translate over to being a head coach in the NBA today. His close relationship with LeBron James after starting a podcast together could also play a factor in him being the new Lakers head coach. As of recent, Redick joined ESPN to be a part of broadcasting games at the start of the 2021-22 season.
JJ Redick’s Response to the Lakers Rumors
During his appearance on the Road Trippin’ podcast, he explained what it is about coaching that may be appealing to him.
“I am currently a broadcaster and a podcast host of multiple podcasts and really just enjoying those things. Very fortunate to be doing this. The coaching thing…Channing and RJ I would guess that there’s a part of you, and it’s a very small part of me that misses playing. There’s a small part of me that misses shooting a basketball or coming off a screen and shooting. But it’s a small part.
What I really miss is the juice. I miss the action, I miss the competition, I miss leadership, I miss being on a team. In a locker room, physically in a locker room after winning a road game. There’s a high that you get as an athlete that goes beyond passing and shooting and dribbling, and taking a charge or dunking a basketball. And the part about coaching in general is the things that I miss and the things that I love doing that involves coaching. That all is part of coaching. That’s all,” Redick said.
.@jj_redick explains what he finds intriguing about coaching.
Full episode with @Rjeff24, @channingfrye, and @RealAClifton: https://t.co/KfRW1Z6SQM pic.twitter.com/KaI7Z3Y9LE
— Road Trippin’ Show🎧 (@RoadTrippinPod) May 8, 2024
Last Word
Even after analyzing Redick’s response to his coaching rumors and interpreting that he could possibly be a good coach for the Lakers, it’s not set in stone. The Lakers are still likely to interview a number of different candidates, both with head coaching experience and without. Regardless, it seems that the Lakers search for a new head coach is starting to ramp up. Redick and others are likely to be interviewed moving forward and Lakers faithful should expect a new head coach signing this off season.
