Los Angeles Lakers Hire JJ Redick As Next Head Coach, Fourth In ...

JJ Redick has agreed to a four-year deal to serve as the Los Angeles Lakers' next head coach. (Photo ... [+] by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring JJ Redick to be their next head coach.

As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers and Redick have agreed to a four-year contract for the former 15-year NBA veteran and ESPN analyst to become the franchise's next head coach.

"ESPN Sources: JJ Redick has agreed on a four-year contract to become the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers," writes Wojnarowski. "Rob Pelinka offered job this morning and Redick’s started working on a staff to surround himself with experience."

The 39-year-old emerged as the favorite for the Lakers' head coaching job just prior to the start of the NBA Finals. Despite having no coaching experience, Redick's basketball intelligence – which is often seen during his appearances on ESPN broadcasts – along with his tactical concepts of the modern game obviously drew the attention of the franchise's brass. It also doesn't hurt that he has a good relationship with Lakers star LeBron James, whom he hosts a podcast with.

The move comes shortly after University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley rejected the Lakers’ offer to become their next head coach. The offer was for six years and $70 million.

Redick will be tasked with getting the Lakers back on a championship path after a disappointing season that saw the team eliminated in the first round by the Denver Nuggets for the second straight season. During the previous year, Los Angeles was swept out of the Western Conference Finals by the Nuggets.

However, it will be no easy task as the Lakers have failed to sustain success in recent years. Not only will Redick be the fourth head coach in James' tenure since joining Los Angeles in 2018, they've either failed to advance past the first round or have missed the playoffs in four of his six seasons with the Lakers. Furthermore, they are now on their seventh head coach in the past 12 years since Phil Jackson's retirement at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season.

The move comes a little over a month after Los Angeles dismissed Darvin Ham as head coach after just two seasons. Ham had compiled a 90-74 record during his two seasons with the Lakers. However, his “in-game adjustments helped widen the disconnect caused by some of the lineup decisions that players questioned,” according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Furthermore, it was reported that James bristled at the idea of Ham's minutes restriction for him at the beginning of the season. That plan was quickly scrapped after the beginning of the season.

While Redick has no coaching experience, he's not the first head coach to be hired with a lack of resume. Jason Kidd coached the Brooklyn Nets to a conference semfinals playoff appearance during his first season with the Brooklyn Nets in 2013-14. Meanwhile, Larry Bird coached the Indiana Pacers to within a game of the NBA Finals in 1997-98.

In other words, while Redick will be entering as a rookie head coach, he'll be doing so in an environment with higher expectations than anywhere else. Considering both James – 39 years old – and Anthony Davis – 31 years old – are running out of time as a duo, the expectation will be to win a championship immediately. Especially when considering the Lakers' biggest rival, the Boston Celtics, just hoisted their 18th championship trophy to surpass the Lakers for the most titles in NBA history.

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