SUMMARY
- JJ Reddick is one of the favorites to land the head coach's vacancy in LA.
- The Lakers certainly need some experienced like Sam Cassell and not JJ Reddick.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a tough fall this season and there isn’t much time left for error. On one hand, they’ve got an aging LeBron James who can still play well but potentially has only two years left in the league. And in the other, they have superstars like Anthony Davis trying to win more championships. Having won a championship together already, the duo is ready to return to the top, but they haven’t been able to find success since 2020.
Darvin Ham: “We want all the smoke and we ain’t ducking no fades.”
The Lakers are now one game away from being swept pic.twitter.com/xUmBGCf9vp
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 26, 2024
After coaching the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last year despite being a Play-In Tournament team, Darvin Ham couldn’t find a spark with this team, nor did he know exactly how to help them. LA fired Ham shortly after their playoff run concluded and they’re currently on the prowl for their next head coach. And one name that consistently appears in this conversation is JJ Reddick.
JJ Reddick has great basketball IQ but no coaching experience
JJ Reddick was an incredibly efficient athlete during his career that spanned over 15 seasons. Before retiring in 2021, the former Duke standout played alongside stone-cold assassins on the floor, like Dwight Howards, Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid, and Luka Doncic. He last played alongside Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks. Reddick was a renowned sharp-shooter as well. Unfortunately, he began finding it hard to keep up with the league and chose to retire.
Since then, Reddick started a couple of podcasts, most notably The Old Man and the Three and Mind the Game featuring LeBron James. He also became a guest analyst on various ESPN shows. His work in sports media was what helped the world see that he’s an astute individual with great knowledge of the sport.
JJ Reddick is a potential candidate for the Lakers head coaching job, according to ESPN. pic.twitter.com/XOfRbVadzj
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 2, 2024
But while Reddick has the IQ, he certainly doesn’t have the experience as a coach. Sources have claimed that the Lakers have interest in Reddick to replace Ham. But it wouldn’t make much sense especially since he’s never coached before. This would be disastrous for Reddick as coaching the Lakers would entail various expectations that he may not be able to meet. And this could ruin the idea of coaching for Reddick.
Sam Cassell has worked with a similar dynamic like the Lakers
While Reddick’s name is being plastered all over the media in terms of who’s going to be the Lakers’ next head coach, Sam Cassell is another individual to keep an eye on. LA would rather opt for Cassell to take over the vacancy because he has a ton of experience to provide to this Lakers squad. Additionally, he is also affiliated with Klutch Sports Group and Rich Paul, who happen to represent James and Davis as well.
🚨 Lakers top head coaching candidates 🚨
Sam Cassell
James Borrego
JJ Redick pic.twitter.com/AxcB2g6AuO— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 14, 2024
Cassell had worked on a championship team before while he was an assistant to Doc Rivers during his tenure with the Boston Celtics. He has a decent idea of what it’s like to work with two dominant players as well since he coached Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. As attractive as Reddick may look knowledge-wise, he may not know exactly how to manage a team in real-time.