It is starting to look like JJ Redick will be hired by the Los Angeles Lakers to be their next head coach and that it is only a matter of time before his hiring is officially announced.
Multiple prominent insiders, including Anthony Irwin, Dan Woike and Shams Charania, have reported that Redick is indeed, at the very least, a strong frontrunner to win the job.
In addition, there seems to be a real chance the Lakers will end up drafting Bronny James, LeBron James’ son.
The critics say the elder James is behind both rumored moves, and that perhaps he and his camp are even demanding the Lakers make both moves to be able to re-sign him as a free agent this summer.
Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce feels the Lakers are more concerned about “putting on a good show” than winning the NBA championship because it seems poised to add Redick and the younger James.
Are the Lakers serious about winning?
Paul Pierce weighs in on The Truth Lounge, available on All The Smoke Productions YouTube: https://t.co/QsJ06Cvd7X pic.twitter.com/OTW3v5ptXV
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“I gotta be honest with you I really don’t think this is really about a championship no more,” Pierce said. “This is about putting on a good show. This sounds like a script to me. This really sounds like a script to me. Think about this, they hire JJ Redick, draft Bronny or sign Bronny. Does this sound like something that’s like ‘we’re trying to move in a direction to win a championship?’ Or does it sound like ‘we’re trying to put on a show?'”
Redick has virtually no coaching experience of any kind, so he may not be the best head coach for a Lakers team that will still be in win-now mode assuming the elder James remains on board. However, the elder James and his agency Klutch Sports seem to hold tremendous pull with the Lakers, so perhaps logic won’t prevail here.
On the other hand, there is always the chance that Redick turns out to be a good coach right away and will be able and willing to hold his friend James accountable.
The two currently host the “Mind the Game” podcast, which has made plenty of people skeptical about why Redick is even a head coaching candidate to begin with.
