The appointment of JJ Redick as coach of the Lakers will make thousands of people unhappy: those who religiously listened to his podcasts. “For now, and I hope for a long, long time, I am excommunicated from this content creation space”Redick quipped. “So there will be no more podcast. … I’m done with the podcast for now.”
At 39 years old, here he is, coach of the most prestigious franchise. Without the slightest experience in the profession. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of it: I’ve never coached in the NBA before.” he quips again. “I have never coached, but I have some experience. It was after interviewing for the Toronto job last year that I knew I wanted to coach in the NBA. Last year I spent a lot of time talking to coaches and GMs, asking their opinions. …I felt like this was what I wanted to do. »
LeBron James played no role
What does he think of the doubts about his abilities to coach a big team like the Lakers? “I don’t really care”, he replied. “Honestly, I want to coach the Lakers. I want to coach the team. I don't want to dissipate anything. I want to become a great coach in the NBA. And I want to win titles. And I want my players to get the most out of their careers. That’s all I care about.”
Redick assures in passing that LeBron James played no role in his arrival. “He didn’t give me any advice. LeBron and I didn't talk about the Lakers job until Thursday afternoon, about 30 minutes after I was offered the job. And that was very intentional on both of our parts.”
Davis, hub of the attack
Words that will be confirmed by Rob Pelinka, sitting next to him, who will specify that Anthony Davis was much more involved in the choice of coach. Precisely, regarding Davis, Redick wants to place him at the heart of his game. Like Nikola Jokic at the Nuggets. And he wants to take advantage of LeBron James' progress at 3-points to make him play more without the ball.
“One of the things we talked about with Anthony was the idea of using him as a hub. There are a slew of players in the NBA who are used like that. I don't know if he was used that way and made the most of all his abilities. »
