If the grapevine is to be believed, the Lakers have finally hired JJ Redick to be their head coach. Considering that they were first linked to the broadcaster shortly after their elimination from the playoffs in early April, it’s fair to note that they did their due diligence. Along the way, they also touched base with the Pelicans’ James Borrego and went so far as make the Huskies’ Dan Hurley a $70-million offer that the latter subsequently rejected to great fanfare. In the end, though, their search led them back to their initial target.
Only time will tell if the Lakers and Redick were fated to be together, and if their partnership will reap success. To contend that he needs to exceed himself given the outsized expectations would be to understate the obvious. For one thing, he has absolutely no bench experience to tap; he will have to rely on 15 years and 1,050 games’ worth of burning rubber “in between the four lines,” as top-dog-to-be LeBron James likes to say, to make them competitive. For another, they don’t exactly have a well-constructed roster capable of rubbing elbows with the National Basketball Association elite.
Not that Redick won’t try. While he may be relatively wet behind the ears, there’s no question that he will be putting in the work required for him to make a good accounting of himself in the hot seat. He’s a hoops lifer armed with the brains and the temperament — and, yes, communication skills honed as a former player — to sell his vision. The process the Lakers went through may have been clunky at best, but it figures to have a significant upside should other pertinent factors likewise fall into place.
It’s a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty situation, to be sure, and the Lakers are banking on no small measure of hope to meet a favorable outcome. On the other hand, any and all alternatives they had, including that presented with Hurley on board, were no less uncertain. They’ve had seven hires prior to his since 2011, so who’s to say their eighth won’t pan out? Maybe it’s time they went outside the box.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
