The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly finalizing the signing of JJ Redick as their new head coach a few weeks away from the NBA Draft, where they’re expected to show interest in drafting Bronny James. On ‘The Truth Lounge’, Paul Pierce believes these moves indicate the Lakers are trying to put on a show and not chase a championship.
“I really don’t even think this is about a championship anymore. I think it’s about putting on a good show. This sound like a script to me, it really do. If we’re talking about, think about this, they hire JJ Redick, draft or sign Bronny, does this sound like we trying to move in the direction of a championship or put on a show?”
(Starts at 29:31)
While Pierce didn’t name LeBron James, this specifically does indicate some level of LeBron-oriented thinking given his close ties with Redick and the fact that he has previously said he wants to play with his son, Bronny, in the NBA. Given LeBron is a free agent this summer, the Lakers do have an incentive to keep James happy so he re-signs with the franchise.
Both decisions have been rationalized through reports not involving LeBron, with the coaching search in particular. James’ camp has made it abundantly clear that he has no involvement in the Lakers’ search for a new head coach, with the Lakers pursuing Redick because they believe he can be the next Pat Riley.
As far as Bronny is concerned, this is a more blatant move to appease James. However, Bronny has been turning down workouts from various other teams and zeroing in on either joining the Lakers or the Suns, so this might be a more intentional ploy than what coaching has been made out to be.
The Impact Of These Moves On A Win-Now Lakers Roster
The Lakers have to win now, there is no other way around it. Given how much money they’ve invested in this roster, especially with the frequent coaching changes, a title needs to be the end goal for this project. Anthony Davis is locked in on a contract that should progress beyond LeBron’s playing days, so this is a project with winning in mind and no alternatives.
Drafting Bronny shouldn’t be a decision that greatly changes the Lakers’ ceiling or floor unless drafting him leads to the Lakers actively playing bad lineups to give him playing time. It shouldn’t affect the team’s winning chances if it’s to draft him and play him occasionally while developing his skill set.
Redick is a much bigger question. He’s a complete novice to coaching in general, never having coached at any of the competitive levels of basketball. He has shown strong knowledge of the game through his various media ventures in the last five years, critically starting a podcast with LeBron earlier this season to analyze the game from an x-and-o’s perspective.
If Redick is meant to be an analyst and not a coach, the Lakers will find themselves in a very tricky position. If it doesn’t work out, LeBron will get a huge chunk of the blame as well, so everyone involved needs to analyze these decisions and pray they work out.
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