How good was JJ Redick in his first year as Lakers head coach?
Welcome to our annual Lakers season in review series, where we’ll look back at each player on the team’s roster this season and evaluate if they should be part of the future of the franchise. With all players already evaluated, today, we finish by taking a look at head coach JJ Redick.
While there were bumps in the road and the ending left a sour taste in Lakers fans’ mouths, overall, Redick’s rookie campaign as head coach was a success.
He navigated the team through injuries and a massive, roster-altering trade but still arrived at a 50-win season. This is the same number of victories Pat Riley had when he was a first-year head coach and the most wins by a Lakers team since the 2019-20 title season.
However, the Lakers’ glory ended when the postseason began.
During the playoffs, Redick’s inexperience caught up with him as he made zero substitutions in the second half of Game 4 and opted for a small-ball lineup in Game 5. The Lakers lost both games, ending the series and their season.
How did he coach?
From the start, Redick established that he was in charge and running things differently compared to his predecessor.
While Darvin Ham held onto his starting lineup changes like they were nuclear missile codes, Redick openly shared them and announced his first five before the season even began.
Once the games started, it was a bumpy ride during the first quarter of the season. The Lakers began 12-10 and were sitting in ninth place, seeming destined again for another season of fighting for play-in positioning.
However, Redick continued to fine-tune the roster and rotations. D’Angelo Russell, who was originally part of the starting five, saw less time while someone like Max Christie saw his minutes increase.
As the trade deadline inched closer, the Lakers began giving Redick the type of players that better matched his system. Russell was traded for Dorian Finney-Smith in late December, and Los Angeles had a successful January, going 9-5 on the month.
As February began, the Lakers embarked on a challenging road trip and defeated the New York Knicks, despite playing without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. At the time, this was one of the best wins of the season, but it was quickly overshadowed by the trade for Luka Dončić, which was announced that very night.
Redick had to navigate the implementation of Luka into the lineup and focus on continuing to win now. He handled the circus that is being the head coach of the Lakers well. Plus, he not only helped the Lakers win more games, but he also began the process of modernizing the franchise’s offense.
The Lakers generated 36.4 3-pointers, placing them near the middle of the pack in the league. Under Ham a year ago, the Lakers tried 31.4 shots from deep, which was the second fewest in the NBA.
With a healthy LeBron James, Luka and the emergence of Austin Reaves, suddenly the Lakers looked like a dangerous team that could make a deep postseason run. Minnesota, however, was a puzzle that Redick never solved, and as the series progressed, his moves became all the more perplexing.
Flaming out by losing in five games as the higher seed was disappointing, but you have to look at the totality of the season.
All things considered, Redick had a good first year, and he is as aware as anyone that he has room for improvement.
What is his contract situation moving forward?
Redick signed a four-year deal in the summer of 2024.
Should he be back?
Of course, Redick should and will be back next season.
He had an overall successful year, seems to be in sync with the front office and there isn’t even a hint that he is in any kind of a hot seat.
While the year didn’t end on a high note, Redick has more than proven that he is a coach who is capable of reaching those heights.
With an entire offseason ahead to upgrade the roster and the chance to have LeBron and Luka for a full 82-game season, it’s likely that the best is yet to come for Redick in Los Angeles.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.