JJ Redick Notes Raptors Impact on New Position as Lakers Coach

JJ Redick said it was his interview with the Toronto Raptors that really inspired him to pursue a career in coaching with the Los Angeles Lakers

Jun 24, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick speaks to the media during an introductory news conference at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

It was an interview with the Toronto Raptors that changed everything for JJ Redick.

At the time, the Raptors were searching for a new head coach to replace Nick Nurse. The organization had cast a wide net, searching everywhere for the right person to lead Toronto into a new era of Raptors basketball. The list of names considered was long and at one point included Redick who had retired from basketball and was hosting the widely successful podcast "Old Man and the Three."

"It was really after I interviewed for the Toronto job last year that I knew that I wanted to be a head coach in the NBA," Redick told reporters during his introductory press conference for the Los Angeles Lakers. "And so the last year, I spent a lot of time talking to coaches, talking with GMs, picking their brains. ... I just felt like this is what I'm supposed to be doing."

Redick was one of over a dozen coaches Toronto interviewed before settling on Darko Rajaković as the team's head coach to start last season. The Raptors had also reportedly considered former Canadian basketball star Steve Nash as well as former Raptors assistant coach Sergio Scariolo for the position,

The former NBA sharpshooter spent this past season as an ESPN analyst while co-hosting another new podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James.

All of that will come to an end now that Redick has been named the head coach of the Lakers and is set to coach his former co-host James beginning this season.

"For the time being, and hopefully it's a very, very long time, I am excommunicated from the content space," Redick said. "So there will be no podcast. ... I'm done with podcasting for now."