Lakers to hire JJ Redick as next coach – reports

The Los Angeles Lakers have reached an agreement to make JJ Redick their next head coach, ESPN and other outlets reported Thursday, June 20.

Redick was offered a four-year contract on Thursday morning, according to ESPN. Financial terms were not yet known.

Redick, 39, played 15 seasons in the NBA but has no prior coaching experience.

That didn’t matter to the Lakers, who reportedly made Redick their top target after UConn coach Dan Hurley rejected a six-year, $70-million offer to leave the college ranks – where he is a two-time reigning national champion – for Hollywood.

Redick will bid farewell to ESPN, where he has worked as an NBA television analyst and recently served on their lead broadcast team.

“Congrats to my man @jj_redick,” ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Anyone who knows anything about you knows that you have that coaching itch. Wishing you nothing but the best.”

Redick also co-hosts a basketball podcast with Lakers star LeBron James, launched last March. James is due to become a free agent at the start of the new league year but can opt into a $51.4 million player option to stay in Los Angeles.

ESPN reported that Redick is working to assemble a coaching staff that will surround him with experienced voices.

He replaces Darvin Ham, who was fired by the Lakers fired after two seasons, which included an appearance in the Western Conference finals in 2023. Ham posted a 90-74 record but was 9-12 in the playoffs since replacing Frank Vogel in 2022.

In 14 NBA seasons with Orlando, Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Dallas, Redick had career averages of 12.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

He remains the all-time scoring leader in Duke history, with 2,769 points over four seasons playing for coach Mike Krzyzewski. Redick was the 2006 national college player of the year. – Rappler.com