The Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest move this summer was overhauling their coaching staff. Out went Darvin Ham, and in came JJ Redick as the new head coach, along with veteran assistants Scotty Brooks, Nate McMillan and Lindsey Harding.
While Redick had a long and impressive career, and was a rising star in the media world, he had no prior coaching experience. So why would the Lakers, with all of their expectations, hand him the reins for the last few years of the LeBron James era?
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss shared some insight into the decision on Thursday during an appearance with local Los Angeles radio show “Petros and Money.”
“We wanted to kind of think a different way,” Buss said. “Really, he’s got a vision. I’m not comfortable talking about the basketball stuff, but 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, 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.
“I’m really impressed with his staff. Right now, it’s not mandatory for the players to come in and practice but players are coming in and working out. The coaching staff with Nate McMillan and Scotty Brooks, there’s a lot of experience that will be there for him to make that adjustment to being a head coach. 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.”
Buss’ comments are notable, not just for this season, but the future.
The Lakers were, in some ways, stuck in the stone age under Darvin Ham. They were fourth in post-up possessions per game last season (7.3), 28th in 3-point attempts (31.4), 29th in offensive rebounding rate (24.4) and finished 15th in offensive rating (115.4). Redick has already guaranteed that will change.
“I’m going to use math,” Redick said during his introductory press conference earlier this summer. He wants his team to…
..
