JJ Redick and the Lakers coaching saga

theschwartz said:
It's fine, JJ will just stay at a Holiday Inn Express before all games.
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I find it hard to root for the Lakers. I may have to reconsider.

Good for JJ. I'm not at all sure he survives the pressure cooker but, either way, he is financially set for life. He probably was in that position before taking the Laker job.

It's interesting how JJ was the subject of so much hate from opposing fans. Listening occasionally to his podcasts, JJ seems to have really good relationships with a lot of his prior opponents, many of them African-American. That's encouraging to me, that he has the respect of these guys and maybe bodes well for his future success with the Lakers. I hope so, I think.
 
MartyClark said:
I find it hard to root for the Lakers. I may have to reconsider.

Good for JJ. I'm not at all sure he survives the pressure cooker but, either way, he is financially set for life. He probably was in that position before taking the Laker job.

It's interesting how JJ was the subject of so much hate from opposing fans. Listening occasionally to his podcasts, JJ seems to have really good relationships with a lot of his prior opponents, many of them African-American. That's encouraging to me, that he has the respect of these guys and maybe bodes well for his future success with the Lakers. I hope so, I think.
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Relationships are great, but Lakers will expect instant gratification particularly since Celtics have more titles. I just don’t see any NBA titles with an aging Lebron running the franchise. I doubt his stay extends past Lebron time, but I’ve been wrong before (didn’t think Duke would ever win a title).
 
arnie said:
Relationships are great, but Lakers will expect instant gratification particularly since Celtics have more titles. I just don’t see any NBA titles with an aging Lebron running the franchise. I doubt his stay extends past Lebron time, but I’ve been wrong before (didn’t think Duke would ever win a title).
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Yeah, JJ is a very talented and highly intelligent person, but he has no coaching experience. He's going to work for a dysfunctional organization with weak leadership. I think there's high potential for major disaster here. I really hope JJ has a Monty Williams contract.
 
Waynne said:
Yeah, JJ is a very talented and highly intelligent person, but he has no coaching experience. He's going to work for a dysfunctional organization with weak leadership. I think there's high potential for major disaster here. I really hope JJ has a Monty Williams contract.
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The obvious comparison here is Steve Nash in Brooklyn, although Nash at least had a year or two of pseudo-coaching experience as a consultant with the Warriors. The Lakers situation is tough but probably not as top to bottom dysfunctional as the Durant-era Nets were.
 
kybluedevil said:
WOULD YOU TRUST A SURGEON WHO HAS NEVER OPERATED BEFORE?

WHAT ABOUT A PILOT WHO HAS NEVER FLOWN BEFORE?

Please advise. Asking for a friend newly hired in NBA
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Coaching is not analogous to performing surgery or flying a commercial airplane in the technical expertise required or the stakes should you make one bad decision. JJ knows basketball and a gifted communicator. In coaching, there’s room for some on the job learning. The real issue is whether the Lakers have the patience to allow JJ to develop. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt they do.
 
mph said:
Coaching is not analogous to performing surgery or flying a commercial airplane in the technical expertise required or the stakes should you make one bad decision. JJ knows basketball and a gifted communicator. In coaching, there’s room for some on the job learning. The real issue is whether the Lakers have the patience to allow JJ to develop. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt they do.
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I definitely don't know any of the details, but Magic Johnson was head coach of the Lakers for 16 games in March 1994, going 5-11. I only mention this since I recall Magic imploring the players to "work, prepare, and play like he did" with all of the passion that he had... and the team didn't respond well to this. Hopefully JJ will also have patience along with the Lakers.
 
I’m in JJ’s corner and that’s largely been a good place to be. He’s had haters and doubters every step of the way. He has overcome and succeeded in everything so far.

I’m guessing he knows what he’s getting into and wish him success!
 
kybluedevil said:
WOULD YOU TRUST A SURGEON WHO HAS NEVER OPERATED BEFORE?

WHAT ABOUT A PILOT WHO HAS NEVER FLOWN BEFORE?

Please advise. Asking for a friend newly hired in NBA
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really flawed analogies....really flawed.
Responding for a friend who used to craft analogies and other segments for a nationally prominent media personality.
 
MartyClark said:
I find it hard to root for the Lakers. I may have to reconsider.

Good for JJ. I'm not at all sure he survives the pressure cooker but, either way, he is financially set for life. He probably was in that position before taking the Laker job.
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The thing is, he was already making way more money with his media company/podcast/ESPN contract than he will be making from this Lakers gig. The guy was calling the NBA finals. His podcast with Lebron was set to rake in the money. This was not about money.

I heard a quote from him that he wanted the feeling of being in the locker room with the guys once again. He's just a competitor to the core. I can respect that, but this is a bad job. That team is going nowhere and the west might have more talent than any 1 conference in the history of the league right now.

But hey, he will still have a plethora of careers to fall back to if coaching doesn't work out. Might as well shoot his shot.
 
kAzE said:
The thing is, he was already making way more money with his media company/podcast/ESPN contract than he will be making from this Lakers gig. The guy was calling the NBA finals. His podcast with Lebron was set to rake in the money. This was not about money.
....
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Is this true? I have no idea what being a mid-tier sports personality for ESPN pays. Same for his podcast. Some make millions but bball is a bit niche in the podcast world.
 
Skydog said:
Is this true? I have no idea what being a mid-tier sports personality for ESPN pays. Same for his podcast. Some make millions but bball is a bit niche in the podcast world.
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I'm not sure what your definition of "mid-tier" is, but being the top broadcast team and calling the NBA Finals feels pretty "top tier" to me.
 
First test for JJ - LeBron is opting out and becoming an unrestricted free agent. It's likely that he will re-sign with the Lakers (and opting out allows his contract to add a no-trade clause), but he will certainly be getting a few phone calls and JJ will have to sell his vision.
 
kAzE said:
The thing is, he was already making way more money with his media company/podcast/ESPN contract than he will be making from this Lakers gig. The guy was calling the NBA finals. His podcast with Lebron was set to rake in the money. This was not about money.

I heard a quote from him that he wanted the feeling of being in the locker room with the guys once again. He's just a competitor to the core. I can respect that, but this is a bad job. That team is going nowhere and the west might have more talent than any 1 conference in the history of the league right now.

But hey, he will still have a plethora of careers to fall back to if coaching doesn't work out. Might as well shoot his shot.
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I think the fact that Dallas won the Western Conference while being largely carried by one elite star, Luka Dončić, — with a major assist from Kyrie Irving — shows that maybe the conference ain’t all that.

The Clippers are unreliable when it truly matters; the Timberwolves rely too much on clown Townes, and Gobert is a liability on offense; Phoenix is fundamentally flawed and isn’t a legitimate threat; New Orleans is talented, but too often has injured stars; Sacramento is meh; and Golden State is well past is prime. Oklahoma City is talented, but inexperienced and unproven. Denver is very good, but has a thin bench, and Porter is overrated and inconsistent in the biggest games.

I think the Lakers have a legitimate shot at winning the conference, particularly if they acquire an additional solid starter or two. Anthony Davis is fantastic most of the time, LeBron is still LeBron, and Austin Reaves is damn good. Additionally, they have some pretty good players in Vincent, Russell, Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Prince, Dinwiddie, and Wood. I think it’s a mistake to write them off.
 
Steven43 said:
I think the fact that Dallas won the Western Conference while being largely carried by one elite star, Luka Dončić, — with a major assist from Kyrie Irving — shows that maybe the conference ain’t all that.

The Clippers are unreliable when it truly matters; the Timberwolves rely too much on clown Townes, and Gobert is a liability on offense; Phoenix is fundamentally flawed and isn’t a legitimate threat; New Orleans is talented, but too often has injured stars; Sacramento is meh; and Golden State is well past is prime. Oklahoma City is talented, but inexperienced and unproven. Denver is very good, but has a thin bench, and Porter is overrated and inconsistent in the biggest games.

I think the Lakers have a legitimate shot at winning the conference, particularly if they acquire an additional solid starter or two. Anthony Davis is fantastic most of the time, LeBron is still LeBron, and Austin Reaves is damn good. Additionally, they have some pretty good players in Vincent, Russell, Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Prince, Dinwiddie, and Wood. I think it’s a mistake to write them off.
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But how can they add 2 solid starters when so much money is devoted to LeBron and AD? The team was an 8 seed that was easily eliminated in the first round. LeBron and AD will now be a year older. How is this a threat to win the conference?
 
kAzE said:
And he was basically the top guy on First Take other than Stephen A. He was definitely getting a massive paycheck from ESPN.
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"Massive"??? While I suspect his commenting and podcast deals likely put him into a 7-figure income, I suspect it is low 7-figures. I am confident he at least doubled his salary to take on the Laker job.
 
Steven43 said:
I think the Lakers have a legitimate shot at winning the conference, particularly if they acquire an additional solid starter or two. Anthony Davis is fantastic most of the time, LeBron is still LeBron, and Austin Reaves is damn good. Additionally, they have some pretty good players in Vincent, Russell, Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Prince, Dinwiddie, and Wood. I think it’s a mistake to write them off.
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I don't think any team can be truly counted out, because injuries always happen and a major trade could shake things up, but I don't see a single western conference series where the Lakers have the best player. Or even 2 of a the best 5 players. Lebron is turning 40 this year, he and AD are both huge injury risks, and you're way too low on OKC. They are ridiculously stacked now with the addition of Caruso. They also still have 30 picks over the next 4 drafts to trade for the right superstar, whoever becomes available.

Dallas will improve, their core is young, and Lively should be set to become THE dominant defensive center in the NBA over the next 5 years. His potential is amazing, and any shooting he can add to his game would exponentially improve that team. Wembanyama is going to be the best player in the NBA in the next 2 years. I don't think that's hyperbole one bit. Jokic is probably the best until that happens, and Denver should be as good as ever, provided they can extend KCP. I'm also skeptical of any team with Gobert, but AE is going to be one the top 5 players in the league next season, and you can't count him out. That's a lot of young teams who are going to get better. Young teams have less injury issues, and I just don't trust AD and Lebron to stay healthy enough to make any noise in the postseason. The Lakers rely much too heavily on them.
 
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