An emotional JJ Redick spoke to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times about the recent wildfires and losing his home and community in the Palisades. He noted that he wants to help rebuild the community and is dedicating a lot of his effort to it. Redick added that he was here to stay, wanting to coach the Los Angeles Lakers for the next 15-20 years of his career.
“The personal loss is one thing, and that’s hard. But it’s the loss of an entire community. That’s like the hardest part to process. I talked with the mayor about this as well. Part of the urgency in getting this going and her agreeing to fast-track everything – there needs to be an optimism and hope.”
“I mentioned what the rec center represents to the community. I’m hopeful that we can get this done in a timely fashion and have people back. We’re in it for the long haul. I would love to be the Lakers’ coach for the next 15-20 years. This is important to me.”
Redick was one of the many people who tragically lost their homes in the L.A. wildfires at the start of the year. He revealed at the onset of the disaster that he would be evacuating his home, but he maintained that he was still in a privileged position compared to many others and didn’t want people to feel sorry for him.
Several within the NBA community showed support for him, including Stephen Curry, who gifted his sons two signed jerseys as they lost their collection in the fires. However, there was some genuine concern that the emotional toll of losing their house would be too much for Redick and his family.
Jeanie Buss openly talked about worrying that Redick’s wife would want him to resign as Lakers coach after the situation. But luckily for her and Lakers fans, Redick wants to stay long-term while simultaneously helping the community that lost so much due to the fires.
Redick has been a revelation as the head coach. Despite not having any coaching experience at any level other than his young sons’ little league team, JJ has completely transformed the Lakers into a juggernaut. They are having their best season in the NBA since 2020 and look like legitimate title contenders after a very long time.
Of course, Redick has had some things go his way. Rob Pelinka making trades to land Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith, and several others has significantly improved the quality of this Lakers side. Currently, they sit fourth in the Western Conference with a 45-29 record.
They have a genuine chance to surpass the Nuggets and Rockets, who sit ahead of them in the standings, before the season is over. Redick seems to have figured out how to make this roster work. And they should be able to make a very strong run in the playoffs, should all the chips fall the right way.
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