The Los Angeles Lakers had consecutive disappointing endings to their playoff runs over the past two NBA seasons which ultimately led to their front-office electing to fire previous head coach Darvin Ham who is now an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks. In the offseason the Lakers hired 15-year NBA veteran-turned-ESPN analyst JJ Redick as head coach of the franchise which came with a bunch of criticism due to him having zero experience in lead coaching role.

Despite a lot of skepticism by NBA correspondents and fans, Lakers’ owner Jeanie Buss was confidence in her organization’s decision to bring in the former ESPN analyst as the leader of their basketball team. In an interview on Petros And Money of LA AM 570 Sports, Buss commented on the hiring giving some clarity for fans.

“We wanted to kind of think a different way,” Buss said. “Really, he’s got a vision. I’m not comfortable talking about the basketball stuff, but we were looking for a candidate that would bring something different and really invest in developing young players. JJ is the right person for us. Again, I just want to work to really speak for itself, so I don’t want to hype it and say it’s gonna be a home run. We have to give him time to establish what he wants to establish.”

Although Redick lacks experience as a head coach, he made sure to put together a coaching staff that balances some of the components he may not have yet. Former NBA head coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillian will be apart of this 2024-25 staff, which will be great for Redick as he will be able to turn to their wisdom throughout the season. During a Wednesday press conference Redick talked about the mindset he had when putting together his team of basketball minds.

“I had a goal of hiring a really diverse coaching staff in terms of experience and skillsets, and we accomplished that, but the one thing that was a non-negotiable was that everyone we hired was a basketball sicko. If you want to feel alive and you love basketball, come to one of our coaches meetings. It’s been awesome.”

Lakers’ fans should feel more optimistic heading into this season because Redick does seem to have a legitimate plan for this teams’ success. With the backing of the organization and his players the Lakers could be in for a special season under Redick.

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