I am not a Lakers fan.
The first time I watched the Los Angeles Lakers play was in the late 2000s. Stars like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol led the way for the Purple & Gold, who would win back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. That’s when I fell in love with the game of basketball. It was the Black Mamba himself, through his dedication and love for the game, that made me enticed to watch the Lakers play.
But, I am not a Lakers fan.
If someone asked me who my favorite NBA team is, I would choose the Lakers. After all, they’re a franchise to be proud of. 17 championships. Big-name players have come and gone, from Magic Johnson to Shaq to Kobe and now LeBron. Who knows who’s next? But, because of Kobe, I would choose the Lakers. They were the first team I ever watched on TV. So, why not?
But, again, I am not a Lakers fan.
Well, recently I haven’t been.
Let’s face it, since the team won the championship in the COVID bubble, things have not been the same. Losing in six games to the Phoenix Suns in the first round in 2021. Then, they fired head coach Frank Vogel the very next season (who led the team to the Finals in his first year…). It was the same year the team acquired Russell Westbrook in a trade to add another superstar alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
We know how that went.
After that, the front office decided to bring on Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham as the team’s new head coach. Though they finished 43-39 (last in the division), they made the postseason as a play-in team and got all the way to the Conference Finals before being swept by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.
Then, there was this past season. Los Angeles made it back to the postseason as a play-in team but fell to the Denver Nuggets again in the first round.
But, here’s the thing. It’s not the losing that has turned me off. It’s the way this organization has carried themselves throughout the past few years. From questionable head coach hires (Ham) to weird trades (Westbrook) to trades that haven’t panned out (D’Angelo Russell has been terrible in the postseason), nothing has gone right. It wasn’t until these past two seasons that the Lakers had a consistent roster instead of turning over the entire team year after year.
They risked a young talent in Kyle Kuzma along with a shooter in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to bring in a player that dominates mostly by drive-ins into the paint (again, Westbrook) and an on-ball guy (when you already had LeBron doing that). You needed shooting and defense. Instead, you traded what you already had in that department for a big name.
Enough blame isn’t put on Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, and the rest of upper management enough. It’s been a turn-off for Lakers fans to watch this team have to fight their way into the postseason through a play-in tournament, which is honestly one of the worst ideas ever. If you’re a top-eight team, you belong in the playoffs. The seventh and eighth-best teams in each conference shouldn’t have to subject themselves to having their spot taken away by a lower seed.
The standard for this team is to always be among the top teams in not just the conference, but the NBA as a whole. Since that COVID season, they haven’t been even close to the best of the best. Teams like the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and others have surpassed them.
Never mind that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still on this team. They’ve had to deal with players that have not stepped up or lived up to playing in Los Angeles. A coaching staff that has no idea what they’re doing. Especially a head coach who is better at putting his hands in his pockets than actually coaching the team.
James isn’t getting any younger. Davis had his most healthy season this past year. Whether the former can continue playing at a top level and the latter can stay on the court remains a mystery.
So, is 2024 going to be any different for this Lakers team? Well, based on their first move of the 2024 offseason, it sure does look like they’ve learned their lesson.
Hiring JJ Redick Was The Best Choice
Let’s address the Dan Hurley situation for a second. We have to realize the first name linked to the Lakers in terms of their vacant head coaching position was the former player JJ Redick. But, there was a four-day stretch where current UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley dominated the headlines and was up for the job. All of a sudden, fans quickly forgot about Redick and hoped the college man would be the team’s next leader.
Those hopes and dreams faded fast, as Hurley decided to remain in his current situation (reasons are varied, including his wife which I won’t get into because it’s actually ridiculous, but I digress). So, both fans and the organization directed their attention back to the former sharpshooter, who interviewed with the team this past Saturday and eventually got the job. His formal interview took place early Monday afternoon and impressed many Lakers fans like myself with his answers to various questions.
But, back to his interview with the team for the job. Why, out of all people, did he stand out? Well, let’s just say it pays to have been an intelligent and detailed former player of the National Basketball Association.
“So you know my understanding was he met individually with each person and then there was also some group conversations but you know each person had their own set of questions and different parts of the organization and just you know basketball philosophy that they wanted to break down with him and again I was told he was incredibly impressive.”
“I was told JJ was the most personable, was just the most detailed and he had you know multiple answers for any hypothetical that they were throwing at him. So one thing that he really pitched himself on was like I know I don’t have any coaching experience at the professional level but I’m going to be adaptable.”
Lakers insider Jovan Buha on the team’s decision to hire JJ Redick as the organization’s next head coach
The thing about JJ Redick is that he is willing to adapt. He knows his lack of experience will be criticized and may not help translate to immediate success in the league. But, that’s why there’s this thing called “help”. There are assistant coaches for a reason. There is no doubt Redick will assemble a staff full of coaches with many combined years of coaching in the NBA, which will help him learn and be an outstanding head coach for years to come.
His intelligence and experience as a former player will combat his inexperience (or lack thereof) as a head coach. It’s why, when explaining his philosophy and strategy to get back to being successful, the Lakers decided on him to be the new lead man.
“I really don’t give a f*ck. I want to coach the Lakers. I don’t want to dispel anything. I want to win championships. I want my players to max their careers. That’s all I fuc*ing care about.”
— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) June 24, 2024
— JJ Redick. 😳 pic.twitter.com/FSW5ZCz0q3
It’s clear, from the jump, that he’s a player’s coach right off the bat. In my opinion, it’s a good thing. The chemistry he already has with LeBron James from their (now) discontinued podcast Mind The Game along with Anthony Davis’s input of finding the team’s new coach and “blessing” the selection of Redick just shows the players already believe in him.
Austin Reaves on JJ Redick:
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) June 23, 2024
“He’s a basketball genius” pic.twitter.com/cSOf4GjKGB
“This job was about the Lakers. This job was about the Lakers and it was about LeBron James Anthony Davis – two of the greatest players ever. I’ve been able to do some great things in my life. This might be the best. I wanted to coach the Lakers.”
— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) June 24, 2024
— JJ Redick. Wow. I love this. pic.twitter.com/1a3WnvIsVe
Also, he already knows what he wants to maximize each player on the roster.
"For any player on the roster, I can have a vision for how I want to use them, but there has to be buy in and collaboration."
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 24, 2024
JJ Redick speaks on utilizing AD & LeBron
(via @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/3aMl2Zl1kA
Redick cited "great" conversations he had with both Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura this weekend. He mentioned he thinks Hachimura can take more 3's (Rui shot 42.2% last year on 3.4 attempts) and crash the O glass more.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) June 24, 2024
Modernization. If there was one word to describe what JJ Redick brings to the Lakers, it’s that. Whether it’s through mentioned numbers and statistics behind what he wants from his guys to technological advances off the court, this all signals a change from the old ways of the organization to the modern world.
“JJ and I have had some really robust conversations around innovation of sort of even gamifying player development. If you think about a 20-year-old basketball player today and maybe a 20-year-old basketball player, I don’t know, 10, 15, 20 years ago, the modiums of learning are completely different… So we’ve talked about how do we translate coach Redick’s offensive system to app-based or a phone-based deliverable where players can be buying into a philosophy and learning it in a way that meets today’s young player.” And I think innovation has got to be at the core of that…”
GM Rob Pelinka on what changes to expect with JJ Redick and the Lakers organization as a whole
A Different, Yet Exciting Path
For me, I love the concept of youth. The young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma was something worth watching as a Lakers fan. Youthful players who just needed time and development to become impactful players (Ball looked the part before getting hurt in Chicago, but Ingram and Kuzma have had their moments as stars for their respective teams). I will always stand by the fact the team would have won a championship even if the Anthony Davis trade was not executed (we’ll explore that “what-if” scenario one day, I promise).
In the end, I’ll always be grateful for the championship both LeBron and Davis brought to this team. But, these past few years have left my heart empty as a fan. There was nothing to root for. The team was mediocre, no matter how you want to put it. The roster was constantly changing. Players going in and out. Some didn’t fit the system. “Shooters” came and went (I’m looking at you, Malik Beasley, Malik Monk, etc). Frustrations with the coaching staff were evident both on and off camera. Why Darvin Ham kept putting his hands in his pockets all of the time, I will never understand.
Since Phil Jackson, the Lakers have gone through multiple head coaching changes. From Mike Brown to Mike D’Antoni to Luke Walton to the departed Ham, there’s just never been any sort of consistency. Before his Lakers stint, Frank Vogel had a losing record in two seasons with the Orlando Magic (54-110 record). Yes, he had a .580 winning percentage with the Indiana Pacers in six seasons with them. But, his 33-49 record in his last season with the team left a lot to be desired and led to his firing.
We won’t dive too much into Ham. The players never liked him, he wasn’t a coach (don’t even start; he really was not fit to be the head man), and the players along with their will were the reason behind their two playoff appearances.
This team needed a real head coach. A guy who understands the game with a deeper meaning. A big-name guy who could relate with the players. It’s why when the Dan Hurley situation came about, it upset me because I wanted it to be Redick at the end of the day.
Luckily, my wish came true. Many fans are happy with the move.
JJ Redick is just 40 years old. That’s good for the sixth-youngest in the league. It won’t matter.
He’s said the right things. His full press conference is at the end of this if you want to watch it. But, one thing is clear: JJ Redick is the right man for the job. The players are already and will continue to love him. He has the support of Pelinka and the rest of the front office in ways we didn’t see when Darvin Ham was first introduced. Unlike Ham, Redick has a plan in place that he will stick to.
From running the offense through the big man Davis to having LeBron shoot more three-pointers, it’s what fans like myself have been clamoring for. When he’s on his game, Anthony Davis is a dominant offensive weapon along with his presence on the defensive end. LeBron will get his buckets inside the arc, but if his 41% from beyond it last year signals anything, it’s that he needs to keep on shooting.
Of course, many things still need to be done. The rest of the roster looks shaky. The futures of guys like D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, and others needing to be addressed. Will the team keep its draft picks (no. 17 and 55 overall) in this year’s draft? When exactly will James re-sign with the team? Who will the team chase in free agency?
We’ll have answers soon. But, at least the team can check off “head coach vacancy” off of their bucket list.
They have their guy in JJ Redick. After everything I’ve learned and heard from the man himself, he’s the reason why I am a Lakers fan again. For those on the fence like I was, I can assure you this. He will change Lakers basketball and help it rise to the powerhouse it once was.
Believe it. Boston’s reign as the team with the most championships won’t last long.
Welcome to the team, JJ Redick. I have no doubt you’ll be here for years to come.
Make sure to visit Belly Up Sports every week and follow me on Twitter/X! Also, check out me and my co-host Brian Germinaro on the Third and Ten Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts!
Featured Image: USA Today
