Luka Doncic is now on a new team with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he is reuniting with a familiar face there, head coach JJ Redick. Doncic and Redick were teammates on the Dallas Mavericks, and during the former’s introductory press conference, he was asked about their relationship and his thoughts about playing under the latter.
“First of all, he couldn’t move at all,” Doncic said. “… No, but it was a great relationship. I really respect him. You don’t see me going on podcasts. I went on his podcast twice, so you know how much respect I have for him. So I’m really excited that I can play for him.”
Redick only played 13 games for the Mavericks 2020-21 season. He retired after that campaign, which lets you know that there wasn’t much gas left in the tank by that point.
While Redick may not have impressed Doncic on the court by averaging 4.4 points per game as a Maverick, he did make an impact on him off it. The Slovenian has a lot of respect for his new head coach and is looking forward to playing under him.
As for Redick’s thoughts on his former teammate, he reckons the fact that they know each other will prove to be beneficial. Here is what he had to say about their relationship in his press conference before Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome.
“Luka and I were teammates. I would say we had a friendship, a mutual respect,” Redick said. “You then have to figure out how to have a working relationship as player and coach. Both him and I are committed to that… I think the biggest thing is, Luka knows me and he knows how I operate. And that’s a good thing, it gives us both a head start.”
Redick sure is quite fortunate, isn’t he? We have seen first-time head coaches sometimes struggle to deal with superstars, but he already had a relationship with Doncic and LeBron James before coaching them. To go with playing alongside Doncic, Redick co-hosted a podcast with James, and it meant he was already in their good graces.
While that relationship would have helped Redick, he ultimately had to show James that he could coach well, and he has done that. The Lakers are currently 29-19 on the season after a 122-97 win over the Clippers and they were 24-24 at this stage last season.
Rob Pelinka Can’t Think Of A Better Starting Point To Build A Team Around Than Luka Doncic
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka deserves a lot of credit for Doncic being a Laker today, and he was present at this press conference. Pelinka spoke glowingly of the five-time All-Star and is thrilled that he gets to build a roster around him.
“It’s a gift,” Pelinka said. “We’re talking about a 25-year-old that is (a) top-3 player in the universe. I can’t think of a more amazing starting point to build a roster for the next decade and I know he has the drive to win that we have here. Our fans are going to see that every night on the court.”
There aren’t too many players you’d rather build your franchise around than Doncic, who is averaging 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2024-25. That’s what made the Mavericks’ decision to part with him such a shock, but their loss in the Lakers’ gain.
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