Lakers' JJ Redick Makes Surprise Appearance at Rams Practice

"Always respected him from afar," Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean McVay said of Redick. "A well-thought-out guy, a great willingness to look inwardly (for) areas of improvement, understanding how you bring people together. Really enjoyed him coming out."

Redick, 40, led the Lakers to a 50-32 record during his debut season as a head coach. It marked Los Angeles' first 50-win season since the team went 52-19 during the COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 championship season.

The Lakers finished as the Western Conference's No. 3 seed, the first time the team has managed to avoid the play-in tournament since that title run.

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But his coaching came under the microscope in the postseason. The Lakers squared off against the younger, bigger, more athletic Minnesota Timberwolves — the Western Conference's No. 6 seed — and struggled to combat the club's advantages with its big edge: shot creation.

Redick's distrust of his centers became glaring quickly. He reduced starting center Jaxson Hayes to an increasingly more minimal role, ultimately making him a healthy scratch by L.A.'s closeout Game 5 defeat.

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It became apparent that Redick had five players he was prioritizing.

During the second half of a 116-113 Game 4 loss, Redick refused to make even one substitution. He kept starters Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and LeBron James in for all 24 minutes of that bout, plus reserve forward Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith started in the stead of Hayes in Game 5.

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