The Los Angeles Lakers made the inevitable official as Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the team has officially agreed to a four-year contract with first-time head coach JJ Reddick. The deal was finalized after Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka offered it on Thursday morning and is currently working on constructing a staff. While the monetary amount has not been officially released as of this writing, it is believed that the Lakers are going to sign him for less than the six-year, $70 million contract that they offered Dan Hurley.
This was expected, especially after the Hurley rumors came and went, as he returned to UConn to continue coaching the Huskies. JJ Reddick is going to be in an interesting position as he is currently co-hosts the “Mind the Game” podcast with LeBron James, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. However, with the signing of Reddick, James is expected to re-sign with the Lakers this offseason.
Reddick inherits a team with a win-now window that has Anthony Davis under contract for two more years and a third year being a player option. It will be interesting as the team now has a coach in place ahead of the free agency period as well as the 2024 NBA draft.
With the Lakers holding the 17th and 55th picks in this year’s draft, this team can really make itself a contender ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season after losing in the first round to the Denver Nuggets.
What should we expect out of JJ Reddick in his first year as a head coach?
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One thing that is interesting is the fact that first-year coaches typically get an experienced coaching staff to help them through the game situations. Reddick has ample experience as he played in 940 career games in the league through 15 seasons in the league.
One thing is the fact that he would be coaching a veteran roster, especially if LeBron James returns to the Los Angeles Lakers. That means in specific situations that James or Anthony Davis could be coaches on the court and dictate the action. With JJ Reddick in the commentary booth for ESPN during the season and getting to experience the game from a different level, it will be intriguing to see how well he does coaching the little things.
It is clear that Reddick is here to help the younger talent that will prioritize coaching the players of the future as the Lakers have Rui Hachimura, Max Christie and Austin Reaves to name a few younger talents. It is also being reported that Rob Pelinka wanted to hire a coach who could design a creative approach to get forward Anthony Davis more involved on both sides of the court, as he is the building block for the team over the next few seasons.
This is going to be an interesting transition but there have been some successful coaches that have done well right away, including the reigning NBA Champions with Joe Mazzulla. Depending on the experience of his coaching staff going forward, this could keep the Los Angeles Lakers from becoming an afterthought in a loaded Los Angeles market once LeBron James either decides to leave or announces his retirement. James did reportedly tell the team to focus on hiring a coach for Davis and not for him so it will be interesting if he has a longer leash going forward.
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.
