JJ Redick Reportedly Safe as Lakers HC, LA 'Optimistic' on Future After Playoff Loss
JJ Redick is set to get another shot with the Los Angeles Lakers after the team's first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in his debut postseason as head coach.
The Athletic's Jovan Buha and Sam Amick reported Friday that "Redick’s job is safe, and the Lakers are optimistic about his future with the franchise."
"Team sources say the hire was made last summer with the expectation that there would be growing pains, but they remain bullish on his ability to lead this group," Buha and Amick wrote.
Both LeBron James and Luka Dončić spoke positively about Redick after Wednesday's Game 5 loss. Buha and Amick believe those comments indicate that "Redick has the full support of the locker room as well."
"I think he's a hell of a coach," Dončić said. "Not many coaches do the stuff he did in his first year. I'm really glad I got coached by him this couple months. I feel sometimes like I'm back in Europe a little bit, so I love it. We have a great bond, so it's been nothing but amazing with him as a coach."
James said: "I thought he handled it extremely well. I thought he learned every single day, held us accountable, he pushed us. I thought JJ and his coaching staff were great throughout the whole season."
General manager Rob Pelinka also spoke in support of Redick during his end-of-season press conference.
"This season was full of some exciting things that we really need to lean into for our future. One is the coach sitting next to me," Pelinka said, per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. "JJ brought just a complete revival of energy and incredibly hard work ethic, attention to detail, a spirit to our team, to our group, to our franchise as a rookie coach that we haven’t seen in a long time. Our level of confidence, my level of confidence couldn’t be higher.”
Redick found less postseason success than the Lakers' last few first-year head coaches. Frank Vogel made his Lakers debut by leading the team to a title in the 2020 bubble playoffs. Darvin Ham capped off his first season in Los Angeles by taking the Lakers to the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
Redick, however, did lead the Lakers to the No. 3 seed and 50 regular season wins, the franchise's highest win total since the 2020 championship season. That included a 19-13 stretch following Dončić's debut.
Keeping both Dončić and James happy will likely be key to the Lakers' plans going forward. Dončić is eligible to sign a four-year, $229 extension starting Aug. 2, and James has until June 29 to make a decision regarding his $52.6 million player option for 2025-26.
Pelinka told reporters on Thursday that the Lakers will do "whatever we can" to match James' expectations for the roster going forward. That could potentially include keeping Redick on as head coach.
