The Los Angeles Lakers have several candidates to replace Darvin Ham as their next head coach. But the one people have been talking about more than the others is JJ Redick.
Redick had a long and successful playing career in the NBA as a 3-point specialist. He shot 41.5% from 3-point range for his career and made a living by knocking down long-range shots with one or even more than one defender in his face.
More recently, he has become a commentator for NBA games on ESPN, as well as LeBron James’ co-host on the “Mind the Game” podcast.
While many are likely cringing at the mere suggestion of Redick being a coaching candidate for the Lakers, Skip Bayless loves it. In fact, he believes Redick is the one the Lakers should go ahead and hire.
.@RealSkipBayless explains why he wants JJ Redick to coach the Lakers: pic.twitter.com/Q0VQTjE9KD
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) May 9, 2024
“I’ll be honest with you — I’m saying this very selfishly — I want to see JJ Redick coach the Lakers,” said Bayless. “We all know that JJ and LeBron have been doing great new podcast — X’s and O’s, basketball breakdown at the highest levels, deepest levels, great stuff. LeBron has been able to look into JJ’s mind and see the future. (Does) JJ have a little Pat Riley in him? He’s got the swagger, he’s got the look and the looks. He played at a pretty high level. … He knows what it feels like to be criticized. He can take the heat. He can give as good as he gets. He would be great for me, for us, for “Undisputed,” for our business, for everybody in this business because we would all be on the edge of our seats night after night to see how long JJ could last with LeBron. It would be a great experiment. It would be a ratings bonanza, both for the Lakers and for every show that talks about the Lakers.”
The biggest problem is Redick has absolutely no coaching experience, unless helping out his son’s grade-school basketball team counts. Going straight from being a player and commentator to being an NBA head coach, especially the head coach of the James-led Lakers, would likely be too steep a transition, even for someone as sharp and cocksure as Redick.
