So JJ Redick is a retired player. He was great in his role as a shooting guard, and he was one of the really good role players of the 2010s, averaging double digit points per game for ten years. Then he retired in 2021 and became a podcaster, and LeBron James has been on his podcast a lot and they're clearly friends. And now LeBron has obviously gotten him hired as head coach because LeBron just gets to pick his own coaches. So, yeah, pretty ludicrous situation. There have been great players who transitioned to being great coaches, like Larry Bird or Steve Kerr, but they had to work their way up for a few years before being given the head coach job. Going from being a podcaster who's friends with LeBron to head coach is a first, and it's bizarre to see it happening to a team like the Lakers who have a long and illustrious history, with the second most championships in the NBA.
But if there's any upside to it, Redick probably won't be worse than the last guy.
So JJ Redick is a retired player. He was great in his role as a shooting guard, and he was one of the really good role players of the 2010s, averaging double digit points per game for ten years. Then he retired in 2021 and became a podcaster, and LeBron James has been on his podcast a lot and they're clearly friends. And now LeBron has obviously gotten him hired as head coach because LeBron just gets to pick his own coaches. So, yeah, pretty ludicrous situation. There have been great players who transitioned to being great coaches, like Larry Bird or Steve Kerr, but they had to work their way up for a few years before being given the head coach job. Going from being a podcaster who's friends with LeBron to head coach is a first, and it's bizarre to see it happening to a team like the Lakers who have a long and illustrious history, with the second most championships in the NBA.
But if there's any upside to it, Redick probably won't be worse than the last guy.