EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — JJ Redick says his extraordinary hire as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers represents the end of his podcast with LeBron James.
Redick wants to be able to produce much better content next season in a new role within their relationship, chasing a championship together with the Lakers.
The Lakers formally introduced Redick as their coach on Monday, which coincided with the 15-year NBA veteran’s 40th birthday.
At a news conference with general manager Rob Pelinka at the Lakers’ training complex, Redick humorously took in the improbable nature of his extraordinary hire as he looked out over a gym filled with team employees, members of the media and some of his fans. players.
“I’ve never coached in the NBA before,” Redick said with a straight face. “I don’t know if you guys have heard that.”
Redick’s coaching experience is limited to volunteering on his children’s youth teams, but he plans to make up for that huge gap with encyclopedic basketball knowledge, personal charisma, a highly experienced staff of assistants, and an eagerness to innovate.
“This process has been surreal, to say the least,” Redick admitted. “I take this responsibility very seriously. … The Lakers have the most passionate fans around the world and the expectation is the championship, and my job is to deliver a championship-caliber team. That is why I took the position.”
He also said he got the opportunity without help or advice from James, who must decide this week whether he will exercise his player option to return to the Lakers next season or become a free agent.
Although he didn’t reveal any news, he spoke extensively about how he hopes to use James next season with the Lakers, including more three-point shooting to capitalize on his high shooting percentage.
Redick and James won’t be speaking on the microphone together anytime soon: Redick acknowledges he’ll have to stop recording his podcast.
“For the moment, and I hope it will be for a long, long time, I am excommunicated from the content space,” Redick said. “There will be no podcasts. “We’ll do something when I have a break from what awaits me.”
Redick played 15 seasons in the NBA with six teams as a productive shooting guard after a four-year career at Duke, where he became the Blue Devils’ leading scorer under Mike Krzyzewski.
After retiring in 2021, Redick embarked on a career in media. In recent months, he started the “Mind the Game” podcast with James and simultaneously rose through the ranks of ESPN commentators, working the NBA Finals this month.
2024-06-24 23:23:00
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