The Los Angeles Lakers head into the 2024-25 season with their core from last season intact, but a different general is taking command.
Hiring NBA veteran JJ Redick after their offer was rejected by UConn head coach Dan Hurley, L.A. is now confident they have the right man for the job. Of course, they felt that way about Luke Walton, Frank Vogel, and Darvin Ham as well. However, their decision to hire Redick is based on the idea that he’ll bring what they couldn’t.
Lakers’ Jeanie Buss Breaks Down Decision To Hire JJ Redick
“We wanted to kind of think a different way,” Buss tells Petros and Money (h/t HoopsHype). “Really, he’s got a vision… We were looking for a candidate that would bring something different and really invest in developing young players. JJ is the right person for us.”
“Again, I just want to work to really speak for itself,” the heiress continues. “So, I don’t want to hype it and say it’s gonna be a home run. We have to give him time to establish what he wants to establish.”
“Certainly a 12-year career in the league, he’s got a lot of experience. He knows what this league is about and I think he’ll be a great leader.”
Redick won’t be doing it alone of course. Indeed, he’s hired a strong coaching staff that includes Nate McMillan, Scott Brooks, and Lindsey Harding among others. Buss believes that Redick can lean on McMillan and Brooks’s experience as he adjusts to coaching, noting that she’s “really impressed with his staff.”
Will The Workouts Pay Dividends?
If the potential to become better at player development was one of the major draws of hiring Redick, they may already be reaping the rewards.
“Right now, it’s not mandatory for the players to come in and practice, but players are coming in and working out.”
The 40-year-old is currently leading voluntary team workouts, which have involved “more live basketball” than years past, per the Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike. Interestingly, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis are the ones who “have earned positive reviews during this stage of the offseason.”
“Those workouts are the first in the formalized relationship between JJ Redick, his staff and the players, and the first impression might offer some hints as to how the new coach will operate.
Workouts have featured more live basketball —one on one and three on three —than past summers when the focus was more on individual, noncompetitive work.”
Hood-Schifino and Lewis probably aren’t going to be the most important pieces to the Lakers’ championship puzzle. Nonetheless, they could be x-factors. Indeed, half of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ rotation featured players younger than 25 last season. Notably, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaden McDaniels were drafted 17th and 28th overall, respectively.
Hood-Schifino, the 2023 No. 17 pick, is a dynamic point guard at 6-foot-6. With his defensive baseline, he could establish himself in L.A.’s rotation by becoming a consistent outside threat. Though the 40th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Lewis has the 3-and-D tools to be a solid role player.
With that being said, it’s not just about Hood-Schifino and Lewis. If Redick can coax out their potential, he may be a guru after all. If so, his coaching of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura could really move the needle.
