While LeBron James and Anthony Davis are playing for the US team at the Olympics, it seems like the Los Angeles Lakers will have a busy summer in the transfer market. However, the biggest move the purple and yellow team made was… changing their coach.
After cutting Darvin Ham early, the Lakers have placed their trust in JJ Redick as the club’s new head coach . In addition to podcast host LeBron James, the assistants chosen include longtime coach Scott Brooks, Nate McMillan and Lindsey Harding.
Despite JJ Redick’s long NBA career and high basketball IQ (he worked as an analyst for ESPN after retiring), the former 3-point shooter has no coaching experience. The last team Redick coached was a… middle school team that his son played for.
Many people wonder what a “rookie” head coach can do with the sky-high expectations of the Los Angeles Lakers, especially when the team is going all-in on the final years of superstar LeBron James’ contract?
Ms. Jeanie Buss, representative of the LA Lakers club owner, recently appeared on a local radio channel and answered questions from fans.
“ We wanted to find a different approach, a new direction ,” Ms. Buss shared.
“I’m not good at talking about technicalities and I can’t go into detail about it, but we set out to find a candidate who would bring something different to the club compared to previous years.
At the same time, the new coach must really invest in youth development and find the next generation for the current squad. For us, JJ Redick is the right name. JJ meets the requirements we set and has a vision that the team is interested in.”
Putting faith in an inexperienced coach will bring certain challenges, especially in managing the dressing room as well as making adjustments during the match.
To fill this gap, the Los Angeles Lakers have two extremely experienced assistants, Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan, with 24 and 26 years of experience respectively, alternating between head coach and assistant roles.
The fourth member of the coaching staff is a younger name, Lindsey Harding. The 40-year-old coach has just spent two seasons working in the NBA, including a year working full-time in the G-League with young players.
“ As a team leader, we were quite impressed with the assistants that JJ Redick chose ,” said Jeanie Buss.
“McMillan and Brooks are NBA veterans with a lot of experience. Both will help Redick as he transitions from a former player and professional to a head coach.
Personally, I am very excited about what is coming. However, I do not want to put pressure on anyone, let the coaching staff do their job. When the players start to gather and the team officially trains, everything will become clearer.”
It is not for nothing that the Los Angeles Lakers owner talks about the concept of “finding a new direction”. Under the previous coach Darvin Ham, the Lakers had a rather classic and somewhat outdated playing style.
The LA team ranks fourth in the NBA in post-ups and 28th in the league in 3-pointers, a stark contrast to today’s basketball’s trend of moving the ball and shooting from long range.
Not only that, Mr. Ham’s choice was also ineffective when the Lakers only ranked 15th out of 30 NBA teams in terms of offensive rating (offensive rating 115.4 points).
These numbers are hard to accept for a championship-hopeful team, and coach JJ Redick is ready to change that.
“I will use statistics, prioritize numbers and track performance. Simply put, I will do more math when leading the team,” JJ Redick shared after taking the job at the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Everything is going to be about numbers and statistical analysis. I want the team to shoot more, move the ball better, get more rebounds and the team will run more than before.”
Whether JJ Redick will succeed as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the purple and gold team’s style of play will change a lot.
Both of their most recent coaches have prioritized slowing down the tempo of offense and favoring defense. They have left the ball in the hands of LeBron James or Anthony Davis with little turnover, sometimes suffocating the Lakers’ offense.
A young captain with a new mindset like JJ Redick promises to bring a positive image to the purple and yellow team next season.
“ For every member of the team, I want them to wake up every day and feel excited about what the team is doing. That will be my job, to build the style of play, the culture and the unity of this group, ” said the 40-year-old new captain of the Lakers.
Coach JJ Redick’s first chance to show off will be a series of six preseason friendlies starting October 5 through October 19. After that, Redick’s first official match with the Los Angeles Lakers will be against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 9:00 a.m. on October 23.
