The Los Angeles Lakers hired ESPN analyst JJ Redick as their new head coach on a four-year contract. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Redick, an ESPN NBA analyst who played 15 years in the league, met with Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss over the weekend, and Pelinka offered Redick the job Thursday morning. The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha reported that the deal is “in the neighborhood of $8 million per season.”
General Manager Pelinka believes Redick’s ability to connect with players and his basketball IQ, alongside an elite coaching staff, will help shorten his learning curve into his first coaching job. Redick, 39, has no coaching experience other than with his son’s youth basketball team, but has demonstrated a deep knowledge of the NBA game as a studio and game analyst for ESPN during the past three seasons, in addition to hosting the podcasts “The Old Man and the Three” and “Mind the Game,” alongside LeBron James.
Amidst the search for a new head coach, UConn coach Dan Hurley emerged as a top candidate, though he ultimately turning down a six-year, $70 million deal. Redick then moved into the forefront of the search a week ago after Hurley declined the head coaching gig.
Editorial credit: VectorArtist7 / Shutterstock.com