Purple and Gold supporters, in the opinion of former LA Lakers great Magic Johnson, need to exercise patience with recently appointed team head coach JJ Redick. This summer, the former NBA sharpshooter took over for Darvin Ham, and this is his first job as a coach.
Speaking on KCAL News, Johnson emphasized that Redick will gain from LeBron James’ position as the Lakers captain and that patience is the most important thing right now.
Johnson said, “We as Lakers fans gotta give JJ Redick some time to help him understand how to utilize the talent, coach the talent, what schemes will work, and what won’t. This is not going to be easy. But I think having LeBron as your captain, and AD will be of help him.”
Ten years ago, Johnson led the Lakers as their president of basketball operations. He was a five-time NBA champion. LA acquired LeBron James mainly because of him, and the team won a championship in 2020. The Lakers have made four postseason appearances in six seasons since then.
With a young coach and their roster from the previous season, the Lakers are venturing into unknown territory this year. Watching how the two moves work out for LA this season will be intriguing.
Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss Opens Up About Hiring Of JJ Redick
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss explained the choice of appointing Redick on Thursday when she appeared on the local Los Angeles radio program “Petros and Money.”
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She said, “We wanted to kind of think a different way,” Buss said. “Really, he’s got a vision. I’m not comfortable talking about the basketball stuff, but we were looking for a candidate that would bring something different and really invest in developing young players. JJ is the right person for us. Again, I just want to work to really speak for itself, so I don’t want to hype it and say it’s gonna be a home run. We have to give him time to establish what he wants to establish.”
Another critical factor for Redick as he looks to the future is player development. The Lakers believe he can lead them both now and when LeBron James retires because of his dedication to that area of the game.
