JJ Redick’s head coaching career has been a long time coming.
At least, according to him.
In a December 2022 interview with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks, the new Lakers head coach touched on why he’d be a good basketball coach at the highest level, foreshadowing his eventual move back into the NBA locker room.
“I feel like I know the game pretty well because of some coaches I played for, really, specifically, Coach K [ex-Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski]” Redick said. “He taught me about adaptability. And our game, the NBA, changes so fast year to year. Having the mindset of being open to change.”
That wasn’t the only reason Redick could see himself thrive as a leader on the sideline.
“One of my greatest skills as a human being is my ability to communicate and communicate in an open and transparent way. I did that as a teammate. I think that’s part of coaching, not avoiding things and not avoiding confrontation. Locker rooms, team chemistry, it’s a very fragile thing. We see it all the time in the NBA.”
If we take Redick’s words a year and a half ago as gospel, his drawn-out hiring in Laker land is a dream come true.
“I look at coaching as a way to help,” Redick said in the interview. “It’s like I had so many people help me in my career, and not just head coaches but assistant coaches, player development people, and they have such a valuable place in my heart and in my life. And I’d love to be one of those people some day.”
Redick retired from the NBA in 2021 after 15 seasons in the league.
He most recently served as an analyst for ESPN during the NBA Finals alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka offered Redick the job after being sold on his “ability to connect with players and his basketball IQ.”