In his first public response to his biggest detractors, Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick clapped back at those who believed he jumped the line into his new job.
The Lakers head coach position is one of the most coveted in the NBA. The franchise is among the most well-known worldwide and always aims to add to its large trophy case of NBA titles. When the organization fired Davin Ham in the spring after two seasons on the bench, there was a huge amount of speculation on who might get the job.
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However, as the weeks passed league veteran and ESPN analyst JJ Redick became a popular name linked to the job. Eventually, after some flirtations with UConn head coach Dan Hurley, the Lakers hired Redick to be the new leader of their roster. While it wasn’t a complete surprise, there was a good bit of pushback against the move.
Redick has not been a coach at any level and some felt there were more “deserving” contenders on the market earlier this year. It has created a narrative that the former Duke star used his friendship with Lebron James to jump the line into a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity in LA.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach says ‘I deserved this opportunity’
Well, for the first time, JJ Redick directly responded to that criticism in a new conversation with former ESPN NBA insider Zach Lowe.
“In regards to skipping the line… I think there’s a little bit of a misconception around the idea of someone deserving something or someone not deserving something. Ultimately, it is an organization’s charge to find a coach who’s the right fit for that team and organization with whatever skill sets they may have. I would love for certain guys, some guys I played for, I would love for them to have the opportunity to become a head coach in the NBA. There’s only 30 of us. It’s a very hard thing to do. There hasn’t been a moment that I haven’t felt an extreme level of gratitude. I feel lucky I got this opportunity, but I know I deserve this opportunity as well. It’s not because I spent seven years as an assistant coach. It’s because I’ve worked my a** off on this craft of basketball for the last 32 years. And I’m in this position because of that, not because I skipped the line.”
JJ Redick
The 40-year-old is one of the youngest coaches in the NBA and will have a tough task ahead of him trying to develop the younger players on the Lakers roster while also trying to maximize the final seasons in the legendary career of Lebron James.
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