The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the few teams in the NBA with a vacant head coaching position after they fired Darvin Ham.
Ham’s future in Los Angeles was essentially sealed once he failed to get the team past the Denver Nuggets for the second consecutive year. Ham also didn’t do himself any favors with his mismanagement of the roster and slow in-game adjustments.
With Ham out the door, the Lakers are expected to take their time in their search for a new head coach. One candidate drawing plenty of interest is JJ Redick, who has already interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets for their head coaching job.
Redick’s a successful media personality but explained why he’s itching to get back to the league as a coach during his appearance on the Road Trippin’ podcast:
“I am currently a broadcaster and a podcast host of multiple podcasts and really just enjoying those things,” Redick said. “Very fortunate to be doings this. The coaching thing…Channing and RJ I would guess that there’s a part of you, and it’s a very, very, small part of me that misses playing. Like, actually playing basketball. There’s a small part of me that misses shooting a basketball or coming off a screen and shooting. But it’s a small part.
“What I really miss is the juice. I miss the action, I miss the competition, I miss leadership, I miss being on a team. In a locker room, physically in a locker room after winning a road game. You miss that stuff. There’s a high that you get as an athlete that goes beyond passing and shooting and dribbling, and taking a charge or dunking a basketball. Those are all these little moments of actual gameplay. It’s the other moments that I feel we all miss as ex-athletes. And the part about coaching in general is the things that I miss and the things that I love doing that involves coaching. That all is part of coaching. That’s all.”
As a former player, Redick understands the ebbs and flows of the regular season and playoffs and it sounds like he’s craving that sort of schedule and camaraderie again. The Lakers loom as an option, though they’ll have several candidates to sift through.
Evaluating JJ Redick as a potential Lakers head coach
When evaluating JJ Redick as the next Lakers head coach, he’s got very clear strengths and weaknesses that make him the most interesting case among the reported candidates so far.
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