It seems general managers around the NBA do not expect JJ Redick to make much of a difference for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
This is going to be a very interesting year for the Lakers. Despite back-to-back trips to the postseason, the front office felt Darvin Ham was not the man to lead their roster to an NBA championship in the near future. So they made the bold decision of firing Ham and replacing him with former player and analyst JJ Redick.
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The decision is a big risk since Redick has no previous coaching experience. Nevertheless, many around the game have a lot of respect for his basketball mind. Furthermore, top star Lebron James is good friends with Redick and will buy into what the new head coach is trying to do more than he might have for others who could have landed the job.
Redick will take over a team with two legitimate All-Stars and several other talented players. So he begins his first year as a head in a better position than many others in a similar role. Yet, despite the reason for optimism around LA, it seems that NBA general managers are not buying that Redick can be better in the position than Ham was.
JJ Redick won’t have a notable impact on the Los Angeles Lakers, according to NBA GMs
On Wednesday, NBA.com released a survey of 50 questions they posed to general managers from around the league. One of the intriguing questions they gave was on “Which new or relocated head coach will make the biggest impact on his new team” in 2024-25. There are six new head coaches in the NBA heading into the season.
Well, the Los Angeles Lakers head coach did not fare well in the survey. In fact, he finished dead last with just 3% of the vote. That is not something LA fans will be thrilled to see just a couple of weeks away from the start of the season. The full results for the question can be found below.
Which new or relocated head coach will make the biggest impact on his new team?
- Mike Budenholzer, Phoenix Suns – 40%
- Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers – 20%
- J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons – 20%
- Charles Lee, Charlotte Hornets – 10%
- Jordi Fernandez, Brooklyn Nets – 7%
- JJ Redick, Los Angeles Lakers – 3%
Related: Where do the Los Angeles Lakers land in the latest preseason NBA power rankings?