Former Lakers Guard Praises JJ Redick, Believes He Will Succeed as Head Coach

Is his optimism warranted?

Sep 25, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick at press conference at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Injuries were a big issue for the Los Angeles Lakers last season as it derailed their ability to build chemistry because certain role players were not consistently apart of the rotation. Even though the Lakers were riddled with injuries, previous head coach Darvin Ham also shoulders a portion of the blame which led the team to their first round exit in the 2024 NBA playoffs.

The 2023-24 season got off to a decent start for the Lakers as they were the inaugural NBA Cup winners for the National Basketball Association's In-Season Tournament. Unfortunately as the season progressed there was an obvious tension between coach Ham and certain players on the team. Rumors swirled around the Lakers' community that star big-man Anthony Davis had been completely out on Ham after a number of questionable coaching decisions.

In a article with 'The Athletic' popular NBA insider Sham Charania talked about how during a Feb. 28 game against cross-town rival the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers' players decided to ice out the coaching staff after some questionable in-game adjustments. The Lakers had cut down a 21-point lead to five and could not understand why coach Ham would go against the gameplan that brought them back into the game late in the fourth quarter. Reporters talked about the shared sentiment by players in the huddle who had to speak up in order to veto the plan set by coach Ham.

"Why are we running plays to have LeBron James attack a former Defensive Player of the Year in Khawhi Leonard if the Clippers are willingly switching big man Daniel Thesis onto him in screening actions?"

After the Lakers loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs with a series result of 4-1, the front-office decided to fire Ham in favor of NBA-veteran JJ Redick. Ham clearly lost the locker room last season, and it was obvious a change of leadership would be great for a roster that significantly underachieved in 2023-2024.

Former Lakers guard Patrick Beverly took to X in order share his support of JJ Redick becoming the new leader of the Purple and Gold. Beverly was a member of the Lakers during the 2022-23 season after being traded midway through the year. He also was coached under Ham and dealt with some of the questionable decision making that took place, which is why his tweet on Wednesday came to no surprise.

JJ getting roles in order asap. Don’t 😴 on him. He gonna get it done ✔️

— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) September 25, 2024

During a Wednesday press conference coach Redick talked with reporters about his goals this upcoming season and one that definitely stood is that he was adamant about putting players in the best position to succeed.

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