JJ Redick?
Serious?
The Los Angeles LeBrons appear to be closing in on the groundbreaking appointment of a bench boss with only one legitimate qualification.
JJ Redick could be the next Lakers head coach because he has a podcast with LeBron James.
Period of time. End of CV.
Redick has never coached at any level above grade school. He has never been a head coach, assistant coach, college coach or even a high school coach.
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He has never supervised a practice. He never worked on the sidelines. He never had that responsibility. He has never had to deal with that pressure.
I’ve coached or officiated as many NBA games as JJ Redick, and he’s going to manage the Lakers?
Serious?
Not only would this be one of the strangest Lakers coaching hires in a long list of them — remember that glorious moment when Pat Riley and Jerry West both coached the team? – but it could also be the first talk-driven head coaching in NBA history.
Redick would be hired simply because he is James’ wingman. He would be called head honcho simply because he is a great co-host.
The Lakers would go from basketball team to buddy movie.
Their expected choice of Redick — virtually every pundit considers him the big favorite — makes less sense with every syllable.
Admittedly, the recently debuted podcast “Mind the Game” is great, bordering on brilliant. It’s a masterclass in basketball strategy, filled with intra-hoops chatter that shows a deep respect between the two talking heads.
James likes to chop the strategy with Redick. James clearly thinks like Redick. They’re so connected that it’s not hard to imagine James believing he could essentially be Redick’s co-coach.
The Lakers certainly seem to be imagining it.
Which apparently could make it a reality.
It’s actually awe-inspiring to see the NBA’s biggest franchise continually competing against its best player, even though James is likely in the final two years of his career, even though he’s getting older and more prone to injuries, even to the point of hiring a coach that has nothing to do with sitting at the front of the bench.
That space was once occupied by two coaches who led the Lakers to five titles each. Most recently it was occupied by a coach who led the Lakers to their last title.
Enter Redick, who has never played for an NBA or college champion. In 13 professional seasons, his teams reached the finals once, the conference finals twice, and he was part of the Clippers team that blew a three-games-to-one lead against Houston in 2015 in that historic series.
I’ve won as many titles as JJ Redick, but he’s going to lead the franchise with one of the greatest winning traditions in sports?
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If the Lakers’ recent history is any indication, he will obviously be little more than a co-leader. He will follow James’ instructions for two years until the king hangs up his crown, at which point Redick may also be gone.
Just ask Byron Scott.
So in reality, Redick’s appointment may not mean much, as the Lakers can’t do much until James leaves. They’re not going to win for the next two years anyway, so who cares who the sacrifice coach is?
Well, this coach would still be the face and voice of one of the most popular brands in sports, so it does matter. It’s more important than just choosing a Facebook friend. It’s important for history and heritage, and for all the traditions the Lakers hope will overshadow their annual struggle to make the play-in tournament.
To be fair, Redick doesn’t come completely unarmed. He is smart. Very smart. Eight years ago, he became the first NBA player to host a podcast during the regular season, and currently he’s sharp and insightful as an ESPN analyst
In fact, based strictly on his current group, Redick sounds like he would be the perfect coach, and the exact opposite of poor Darvin Ham, a likable figure haunted by his inability to make adjustments.
But on the pod, Redick talks to only one man, and there are bottles of wine between them. What happens when he has to share this knowledge with a dozen men, with nothing between them but a white board and three minutes?
So what happens when this great basketball brain collides with the suspicions of players who wonder who’s actually talking?
Udonis Haslem, a league stalwart who spent 20 seasons with the Miami Heat and currently sits in their front office, asked the same question on ESPN.
“I’m going to go ahead and say it: If it’s JJ, it’s going to be a cynical locker room,” Haslem said. “You’ll see guys saying, ‘Is the coach going to do a podcast after the game with LeBron?’ You’re going to have a cynical locker room with guys who will dismiss everything JJ says. Because they’ll wonder, ‘Is this JJ’s message or is it LeBron’s message?’”
The guess here is that James’ current message to the Lakers is clear.
Hire JJ or you risk losing him this summer if he opts out of his contract. Hire JJ and he retires as a Laker. Hire JJ, period.
Things would look different if James was good at evaluating coaches. He is not. This will be his third coaching change in seven Lakers seasons, with LeBron bringing them in as quickly as he endorses them.
A coach who won an NBA title was canned. A coach who led the team to the conference finals was booted.
Remember when James tried to fire Erik Spoelstra from Miami before Spoelstra became one of the best coaches in the NBA?
At that point, Pat Riley turned out to be the first executive in the NBA to take on James. He’s still the only one.
Still, it’s not too late for Rob Pelinka, who must realize that if James retires without winning another championship, the blame will shift to Pelinka.
This is the perfect time for him to stand up to James and say no.
No, to a coach who has never coached before. No, to a coach who will serve as a caddy.
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By saying no, Pelinka will finally call James’ bluff.
Would he really leave his home in Los Angeles for two more seasons somewhere else? Not really.
Would he really give up his business interests because they didn’t hire his buddy? Never mind.
It will be the surprise of the year if James doesn’t finish his career as a Laker, and Pelinka should be more concerned about what comes next.
Find a coach, not for the end of the LeBron James era, but for the meat of the Anthony Davis era.
Find an experienced assistant with rings and respect. Find someone strong enough to wrest control of the organization from a superstar turned stop sign.
That someone is out there, his name is Tyronn Lue, but Steve Ballmer is no dummy. So find the next Lue. And find him without contacting James.
It’s easier said than done, and it probably won’t happen.
It’s more likely that they draft Bronny James in the first round and assign him to coach the team.
To wait. That’s a joke. Right?
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
