JJ Redick Viewed As Potential Next Pat Riley

Of all the potential head coaching candidates the Los Angeles Lakers are considering, the biggest unknown by a large margin is JJ Redick. While Redick had a long NBA career and was known as an extremely intelligent and high IQ player, there is absolutely no evidence he will be a great NBA head coach.

Redick has no coaching experience of any kind at any major level and currently serves as an ESPN NBA analyst and commentator. The Lakers job is unlike any other in the NBA with the amount of coverage and pressure the team receives and it can be hard for the most experienced coach to deal with, let alone a rookie.

But that isn’t stopping the Lakers from strongly considering him as, according to Jovan Buha and Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Lakers are intrigued with Redick’s potential, even comparing him to one of the most legendary coaches in NBA history in Pat Riley:

Leaguewide, Redick — a former player and media analyst — has garnered buzz for the position. The Lakers are infatuated with Redick’s potential, according to league sources, viewing him as a Pat Riley-like coaching prospect who could both help the franchise in the short term and lead it for years.

It isn’t completely unheard of for someone with no experience to come in and thrive. Steve Kerr had no experience prior to taking over as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, but is now viewed as one of the greatest coaches ever.

Riley is the prime example of this going from player to broadcaster before getting into coaching. Even he served as an assistant for a couple of seasons before the Lakers promoted him to head coach, however.

The Lakers would certainly be hoping for a similar rise with Redick, but these situations are not normal.

Redick was a finalist for the Charlotte Hornets position as well, so the Lakers aren’t the only team who sees something in him. As was noted, the Lakers need a coach who can help in the short and long-term and, especially the short term, would be questionable with a first time head coach.

But the Lakers plan on doing their due diligence on every candidate and if they believe Redick is the right person for the job, and even the next Riley, the Lakers will make that decision.

Lakers complete first interviews with JJ Redick, James Borrego and Sam Cassell

And the Lakers are already taking the first steps in their process as the team has reportedly concluded first interviews with JJ Redick, James Borrego and Sam Cassell.

There are still other candidates the team plans on speaking with, including Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman, but the Lakers have started down the road to identifying who will be their next head coach.