Lakers' JJ Redick challenges D'Angelo Russell to have 'career year'

New Lakers head coach JJ Redick has thrown the gauntlet to D'Angelo Russell.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Redick essentially challenged Russell to step up his game in the 2024-25 season and produce "a career year" for the Lakers. Redick also made it clear that he and his coaching staff plan to put the point guard in positions to succeed.

"Throughout this summer, he's the guy I probably talked to the most of anyone on the roster," Redick said. "We had a number of conversations during free agency and throughout July and August. He's going to have a major role on this team. I think the thing that D'Lo and I have talked about a lot is just like, 'Let's put you in a position to have a career year.'"

Redick added that Russell has brought an "excellent" mindset and energy to those conversations while praising his leadership qualities.   

"He's in a great place right now, heading to training camp," Redick said of Russell.

As the team's best long-range sniper, Russell holds the key to Redick implementing a new offensive scheme with the Lakers, which involves a lot of three-point shooting and body and ball movement. Last year, the Lakers ranked No. 28 in three-point attempts with 31.4 tries per game. Of those attempts, Russell led the team with 7.2 attempts and converted at a solid clip of 41.5 percent. 

However, Russell never truly earned the green light or trust from former head coach Darvin Ham. It's why his 2023-24 campaign was a tale of two halves that saw him struggle through the first three months before turning things around at the start of the new year. Russell went from averaging just 10.2 points in Dec. 2023 to more than doubling his numbers in Jan. 2024, when he averaged 22.7 points.

Many analysts blamed Ham for not unleashing Russell and utilizing him to the best of his abilities. In comparison, it seems Redick plans to feature Russell front and center to kick off the 2024-25 campaign.