Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday, breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we wrap up with JJ Redick.
In the aggregate, JJ Redick’s rookie season as a head coach at any meaningful level — with all due respect to the youth leagues in Brooklyn — was a success. He navigated one of the wilder seasons in recent Lakers history at least, all things considered, and led
them to a 50-win season and home court advantage.
But being a head coach at the professional level is a “what have you done for me lately” vocation and the playoffs are where everything is revealed about a team. For the Lakers, that meant Redick looked most like a first-time head coach in the five games against the Wolves.
For all the good that may have come in the first 82 games, it’s those final five that left a sour taste in the mouths of fans heading into a long offseason.
The finish to the season didn’t deter the Lakers, though, as the team extended Redick in the offseason, showing a clear belief in what he was able to do last year.
With a new superstar to build around, how does Redick capitalize on the success of last season heading into his second year?
What is his best-case scenario?
It turns out last year wasn’t a fluke and Redick is a genuinely good NBA head coach. Given time to both reflect on his first year in charge as well as prepare for a season that should have more stability — a low bar compared to last season — Redick not only continues down the path he was on, but shows signs of improvement as well.
The team finds better ways to integrate the trio of Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves into actions together, leading to all three having more individual success. That includes actions involving just two of those players, like perhaps maybe more Luka-LeBron ball screen actions or mixing in Reaves with either player.
Given a legitimate starting center and depth at the position, Redick relies much less on small ball, instead deploying it as a tactic to throw teams off rather than one he has to rely upon nightly. It becomes something he can go to when in need of a spark, which is likely the best use for it.
His insistence on the team getting into “championship shape” also pays dividends as they’re able to get out in transition more and don’t wear down as much. And when Redick decides not to make a sub for an entire second half, the players on the court aren’t gassed either (joking…I hope).
In total, it’s a step forward for the Lakers and it becomes clear that they have a coach for the future in Redick.
What is his worst-case scenario?
Well, it turns out the playoffs were the beginning of a downard spiral for Redick.
All coaches are stubborn by nature, it’s just a matter of which parts they’re willing to give ground on. For Redick, the parts he remains stubborn about only continue to hurt the Lakers.
Small ball, for example, remains a staple for the Lakers. Considering how much those lineups rely on LeBron, it puts an unnecessary tax on his body during the 82-game season. Redick, however, is undeterred and either because he believes so strongly in the lineup or so little in Jaxson Hayes after last year’s playoffs, those small ball lineups are regular features of the team’s rotation.
With more tape on what he likes to run, teams have the Lakers better scouted this season and Redick can’t adapt accordingly. Instead, they’re forced to rely on the individual brilliance of Luka, LeBron and even Reaves, which it far too easy to stop them come the playoffs.
In search of answers, Redick turns not to his veteran assistants but to ChatGPT, who reinforce that it’s not him, but the players who are failing. Is that sentence mainly written in jest? Yes. Does it feel a little more possible after media day? Also yes!
The Lakers enter the postseason as one of the middle-of-the-pack teams and, once again, are bounced in the first round with Redick again outcoached, raising lots of concerns about his ceiling as a coach.
What is his most likely role on the team?
Redick had a whole lot more good than bad in his rookie season in charge. No matter how much more weight is put into playoffs, last season was a net positive for Redick.
However, that came with the expectation of being a rookie head coach. He now has experience in the league and the expectations should and will change.
The Lakers clearly believe in him and for good reason. But there are improvements he still needs to show this year to really believe last season wasn’t just a flash in the pan.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
