Seven weeks after firing Davon Ham, the Los Angeles Lakers found their next head coach on Thursday: JJ Redick, a 15-year NBA veteran turned podcaster and broadcaster who knows the league firsthand sources revealed Competitor. Redick will sign a four-year contract with the Lakers worth about $8 million per season, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.
For the past four weeks, the Lakers have been focused behind the scenes on the 39-year-old Redick, enamored with his potential to be a current and future coach over the next few seasons of LeBron James’ storied career.
Redick first interviewed for the Lakers head coaching position with Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka for about two hours the week of May 13 at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Redick then entered the Lakers facility on June 15 and met again with Pelinka and team owners Jenny, Joey and Jesse Buss (the organization’s remaining major stakeholders).
Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the meeting called Redick’s trip to Los Angeles “impressive,” delving into his offensive and defensive philosophies and demonstrating his passion for the game, which bodes well for what he’s willing to do for Countless hours of work are spent competing.
He explains his decision-making process when it comes to strategy and how analysis and empirical evidence always guide his choices, rather than preconceived notions or outdated beliefs. Redick described a system built around this roster that focuses on increasing Anthony Davis’ involvement, especially late in games, and offloading James’ ongoing ball-handling duties by making more use of him off the ball. Keeping James, who is about to turn 40, active during the regular season and playoffs is crucial.
For these Lakers, Redick has seamless access to stars like James and Davis because he will likely be a respected former player, but how he unlocks the rest of the players and coaches from the top down remains critical to this work. Austin Reeves will certainly be part of the Lakers’ strong three-man offense under Redick, and he will be thrust into development players like Rui Hachimura, Max Christie and the team’s draft picks.
Team sources said Redick showed promise during meetings with Pelinka and visits with Lakers owners. But as with any first-time head coach, the real test will come from the adversity of training camp and the season, managing player relations and controlling the locker room.
Since retiring in 2021, Redick has had a meteoric rise in media, running his own podcast network, founding the show “Mind the Game” with James and serving as a color commentator during the NBA Finals while also seeking a head coaching job. Work. Redick interviewed for top coaching jobs with the Toronto Raptors in 2023 and the Charlotte Hornets this year. He has never coached professionally — his only coaching experience to date has been with his son’s youth basketball team.
League sources familiar with Redick’s mentality say he is eager to become an NBA head coach and accept the challenge presented by the president because he believes it is a natural transition for his basketball life.
As Redick watches these NBA playoff games as a commentator and spectator, he envisions how to utilize potential lineups led by James/Davis. A few years after his playing career ended, Redick faced his next basketball challenge.
The Lakers went through some turmoil during the coaching process.
Much of the process has involved Pelinka meeting with candidates in person off the court or virtually, rather than inside Lakers headquarters. After speaking with Redick, Pelinka met with Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego on May 20 in Los Angeles. • Norrie, Denver’s David Adelman and Miami’s Chris Quinn — held a virtual meeting.
On May 29, Borrego became the first candidate to enter the Lakers facility to meet again with Pelinka and the owners.
In the days leading up to and including Borrego’s second in-person visit, some Lakers stakeholders believed the head coaching search was focused on Redick. Given the lack of championship-experience-driven hires following Mike Budenholzer’s departure to the Suns and the Clippers’ five-year extension with Ty Lue, league sources familiar with the matter said Redick’s chances with the Lakers have increased. Already, – top candidates are tasked with balancing wins and development and allowing guidance to overcome early mistakes.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Dan Hurley appeared. On June 6, ESPN reported that the head coach of the back-to-back national champion University of Connecticut Huskies was the “target” the Lakers were looking for. Outside of Jeanie Buss and Pelinka, the pursuit has been tight-lipped within the organization.
When Hurley and his wife, Andrea, arrived at the Lakers’ practice facility on June 7, only Pelinka and Jeanie Buss met with Hurley.
Hurley left Los Angeles after being offered a six-year, $70 million deal, according to league sources with knowledge of the matter. He returned home to Connecticut and mulled over his decision while the basketball world waited.
On June 10, he announced that he would stay with the Huskies. Hurley’s new deal with Connecticut is expected to make him the highest-paid coach in college basketball — more than $50 million over six years, league sources said.
While the Lakers moved quickly to offer Hurley a contract that would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league, some inside and outside the Lakers have expressed doubts about the true overall authenticity of the pursuit and the franchise. Has been questioned. A team source directly involved in the search viewed Hurley’s situation as an attempt at a Hail Mary.
This much is clear, though: When it comes to the Lakers’ final decision-maker, Jeanie Buss, team sources say she was very motivated to make Hurley their next coach, but when her attempts failed, She was very disappointed.
Hurley himself told Dan LeBatard in an interview with the media that the Lakers’ interest began on June 5. Tad was on the show with Stugotz to get a raise, then said the school’s name, image and likeness collective, as well as his personnel salaries, still need to be increased in the Lakers’ process.
Just like that, Hurley was in almost as fast as he was gone.
According to team and league sources, Lakers brass regrouped on June 11 (the day after Hurley made the announcement) and finally went all-in on Redick. Sources said Redick had a phone call with Davis on Monday after meeting with the Lakers on June 15, a relationship that will be crucial for years to come.
The decision to select Redick comes as the Pelinka-led Lakers prioritize Davis’ voice during the process and ensure he understands the shared vision. Sources said other major players are also backing the recruitment.
Los Angeles believes Redick will be the long-term coaching solution the franchise has eluded for more than a decade.
The Lakers have now gone through seven head coaches since Phil Jackson left in the summer of 2011 (eight if you count Bernie Bickerstaff’s five-game interim tenure in 2013). In Los Angeles, winning doesn’t always mean job security: Frank Vogel won a championship in 2020 but was fired two years later. Hamm reached the Western Conference Finals in 2023, but left after one season.
But Redick, 39, checks off a lot of boxes on his detailed list of becoming the Lakers’ next head coach. He has been compared internally to a young Pat Riley as a coaching prospect, who jumped from player to broadcast room to coaching chair (although Riley held the position before taking the Lakers’ top job Assistant coach for two years). Los Angeles believes he can be a version of Erik Spoelstra or Steve Kerr — a cultural leader who can grow with the team for more than a decade. However, there are many more former players and first-time head coaches who have failed to live up to expectations than have succeeded, with recent examples including Steve Nash (Brooklyn), Derek Fisher (Knicks) ), Jason Kidd (Brooklyn) and Ham.
One person who became a respected unofficial resource for the Lakers during the process was legendary former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who dug deep into candidates like Redick, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Understanding provides a perspective on the culture the organization wants. Krzyzewski’s history with the Lakers dates back to 2004, when Dr. Jerry Buss made a strong offer to Coach K, but it didn’t pan out. Shefsky played for Duke University.
According to league sources, assistant coaching candidates under Redick will include former head coach and Trail Blazers assistant coach Scott Brooks, former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo, former Lakers and current Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Ja Reed Dudley and Cassel.
The timing of Redick’s hiring is noteworthy as he will join Los Angeles’ roster planning ahead of the NBA draft on June 26-27, a time when the Lakers can trade three tradable picks (2024, ’29 and ’31 ) on the first day. It also gives James a leader ahead of his impending free agency. The 39-year-old superstar has until June 29 to decide whether to exercise his $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. Competitor.
James’ decision, and how the Lakers reshape their roster around him and Davis, will determine the direction Los Angeles takes next season. But Redick’s arrival is a big bet on an unproven coach — one the team is confident can bridge the gap for the next era of Lakers basketball.
(Above: Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images)
