Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick held a press conference on Thursday, where the former announced that the latter had been given a contract extension. Pelinka didn’t share any further details, and ESPN’s Shams Charania has now revealed what the extension looks like on NBA Today.
“I’m told the Lakers gave JJ Redick a two-year extension, so that gives him a total of five years through 2029-2030 at $45 million,” Charania said. “So this makes it clear JJ Redick is the coach, not just now, but moving forward for the long-term beyond just the LeBron James era in Los Angeles.
“And as these coaching contracts are continuing to go up, as his deal is starting to end, and as he has one year ticked off, they wanted to make sure they gave him two extra years,” Charania added. “So he’s locked in there until 2030.”
The Lakers had given Redick, a 15-year NBA veteran, a four-year, $32 million deal when he was hired back in June 2024. Giving the 41-year-old an extension after just one year was a bit surprising, but it speaks to the job he did as a rookie head coach.
Redick led the Lakers to a 50-32 record in 2024-25, which was good enough to get the third seed in the Western Conference. It was just the second time the team had won at least 50 games in a season since 2010-11. They had gone on to win the title when they went 52-19 in 2019-20, but didn’t repeat that feat.
Redick’s first-ever trip to the postseason as a head coach ended in the first round itself, as the Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Lakers in five games. He faced criticism for some of his coaching decisions against the Timberwolves, but overall, this was a good rookie season.
Pelinka believes the Lakers have found a special head coach in Redick, and the front office deserves a pat on the back for the hire. They saw something in him that many on the outside didn’t.
Redick had no prior head coaching experience, even at the high school level, when the Lakers gave him the job. They were criticized for going in this direction, and there was this notion that he was hired only because he was LeBron James‘ co-host on the Mind the Game podcast.
Well, this extension means Redick is set to stay with the Lakers well after James retires. Their futures don’t appear to be tied together.
Redick expressed gratitude for getting this extension, and he’ll be keen to reward the Lakers for believing in him. He has been given a talented roster headlined by James and Luka Doncic, but it isn’t a perfect one.
Defense has been highlighted as a weakness for the Lakers, and it will be interesting to see what kind of scheme Redick and his staff put together. They’ll also be expected to get the best out of this Doncic-James pairing offensively.
Redick did a good job of integrating Doncic into the offense after he arrived via trade from the Dallas Mavericks in February. We have seen teams wobble when such a big piece is added, but the Lakers didn’t.
That said, there are some adjustments that you’d like to see Redick make to this Lakers offense to get the best out of this group. Considering his track record thus far, you would back him to do just that.
