The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the few teams in the NBA with a vacant head coaching position after they fired Darvin Ham.
After Ham was unable to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over the Denver Nuggets for the second straight season, his future there was all but guaranteed. Ham’s poor roster management and sluggish in-game adjustments also didn’t help himself.
The Lakers are anticipated to take their time looking for a new head coach now that Ham has left the team. JJ Redick, who has already conducted an interview with the Charlotte Hornets for their head coaching position, is one applicant who is receiving a lot of attention.
Despite his success as a media figure, Redick revealed during his Road Trippin’ podcast appearance why he can’t wait to return to the game as a coach:
“I am a podcast host and broadcaster currently, and I really just enjoy those things,” Redick remarked. Extremely lucky to be engaged in this. Regarding the coaching thing, I imagine that there is a tiny part of you both that misses playing, as well as RJ. As in, really putting on a basketball game. Some small part of me misses being able to shoot after stepping off the screen. Still, it’s a tiny portion.
“What I really miss is the juice. I miss the action, I miss the competition, I miss leadership, I miss being on a team. In a locker room, physically in a locker room after winning a road game. You miss that stuff. There’s a high that
As an athlete, you gain skills beyond just shooting, passing, dribbling, leading the charge, and dunking the basketball. These are all of these brief interludes from real gameplay. As former athletes, I think we all miss the other times. The other thing about coaching in general is the things I love to do and the things I miss doing. All of that is included in coaching. That is all.
Redick knows the ups and downs of the regular season and postseason as a former player, and it seems like he’s yearning for that kind of routine and companionship once more. The Lakers are a possibility, but they’ll need to sort through a number of applicants.
Evaluating JJ Redick as a potential Lakers head coach
When evaluating JJ Redick as the next Lakers head coach, he’s got very clear strengths and weaknesses that make him the most interesting case among the reported candidates so far.
