JJ Redick conducted a private team meeting with all the Lakers‘ stars in Beverley Hills, according to Jovan Buha. Buha noted that Reddick, LeBron James, and Max Christie told him about the meeting, and how the team discussed their identity on both ends of the court, and ground rules for the upcoming season.
Redick has clearly identified the approach he wants to take with this team, making sure that there is clear communication between him and the rest of the squad even as early as the beginning of preseason. Many insiders had suggested that a lack of coherent communication between the squad and former coach Darvin Ham was an issue.
It appears that Redick has already impressed people, by just how different he is from Ham. And Redick continues to make it clear that he was not a fan of Ham’s approach, as he took a shot at him while discussing how he plans to use Anthony Davis next season.
Redick is far from the only member of the Lakers organization to throw shade at Darvin Ham, as D’Angelo Russell also took the opportunity at the Lakers’ media day to aim at Ham while praising Redick for how openly he has communicated with him. These will all serve as optimistic signs for Lakers fans.
But it is important to remember that this isn’t just JJ Redick’s first head coaching job, but his first coaching job of any kind at any level of the sport. So he is incredibly inexperienced coming into the role and will need to rely greatly on his coaching staff and his veteran players to identify their style of play early on.
Despite the inexperience, all indications suggest Redick has the respect of the locker room, and will be able to rally them in whatever way needed through the course of the season.
Should The Lakers Be Considered Dark Horses?
It feels strange to suggest any team that has the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis could be a dark horse. But that is actually a valid conversation to have when it comes to this current Lakers squad.
While James and Davis are sensational, the rest of the players have failed to show a high level consistently enough to warrant championship contender status for the roster.
This is why the hiring of JJ Redick could be an inspired decision, as, despite his inexperience, he could help figure out a way to get the best out of this roster and make them a championship, or at least a playoff-level team.
James and Davis are coming off an incredible 2024 Olympics run, where they played incredible basketball to help Team USA win the gold medal.
The duo showed at the Olympics that they can be unstoppable if surrounded by the right pieces. On paper, they have some good players around them, but it will be up to JJ Redick to bring out the best in them over the course of the next eight months.
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