Former Lakers Champion Backs JJ Redick With High Praise Despite Early Season Woes

The Lakers' season hasn't started out the way they were hoping, but one former champion still has praise for their new coach.

Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick during a timeout against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers haven't started the way they were hoping to start this season. They are way down in the Western Conference standings. A lot of the team hasn't played to the level that the front office was hoping for, especially at the point guard position.

JJ Redick is a first-time head coach. As such, he has a lot to learn. Coaching LeBron James and Anthony Davis is a good roster to have, but it also opens him up to a lot of scrutiny. If the Lakers don't win every night, especially against bad teams, Redic gets criticism.

Despite the criticism early in the year, Redick has a very important supporter. That support comes from former Lakers champion Mychal Thompson. Thompson gave Redich a vote of support in a recent interview on Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich and actually praised what he's done to this point in the season.

"I like him because he';s not afraid to challenge his players. I see him get in the face of everybody on the team from LeBron right down to the 15th man on the team. He challenges this team," Thompson said. "He's not afraid to be a Gregg Popovich-type coach or Pat Riley and demand these guys and hold these guys to account to their responsibility so he doesn't back down from anybody. So this is just his first go-around. I think he's learning on the job and doing a good job – we’re 13-11 [the team has since lost another game], blown some games that we should be 4 or 5 wins better, but that comes as a learning experience. But I like the way he coaches this team is not afraid to challenge these guys."

As you can see, Redick has the support of a former player that Lakers fans love. That's important in a job like this. Redick is certainly someone who isn't going to pull punches when talking to his players. He demands a lot from his players and it seems like he has the respect of them too.

The Lakers have a lot of time to turn it around. They have a few moves they can make and have some tradable contracts, including the contract of D'Angelo Russell. If they can right the ship, the fans will love Redick. A lot of them already like him more than Darvin Ham.

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