Lakers’ JJ Redick Posts NSFW Message to Critics

JJ Redick was officially announced as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Ever since Redick was linked to the position, there has been criticism directed at him. Of course, the fact that he never coached in the NBA made him an easy target. But now that Redick is the head coach of the Lakers, he had the opportunity to respond by speaking to reporters during his introductory press conference.

Redick was asked if he wanted to prove any misconceptions wrong, and he gave a brutally honest answer, via Mark Medina.

“It’s a valid question,” Redick said. “And I certainly heard it all. It’s been about a really interesting six weeks… However, I don’t really have a good answer to your question because I really don’t care… I want to coach the Lakers, I want to coach the team. I don’t want to diss anything, I don’t. I want to be a great NBA coach and I want to win championships. And I want my players to maximize their careers. That’s all that matters to me.

Redick’s first head coaching job in the NBA will be a challenge. Los Angeles is a big market and Redick will be scrutinized. Nonetheless, the Lakers’ new head coach is clearly prepared for whatever this opportunity will bring.

Redick and LeBron James launched a podcast called “Mind the Game” last season. The podcast immediately sparked rumors that Redick could become the next head coach in Los Angeles. Redick has said he will no longer do podcasts since he is now an NBA head coach, and he has also denied talking to LeBron about the job until he was offered the job, via Darren M. Haynes.

“He (LeBron) didn’t give any advice,” Redick said. “LeBron and I didn’t talk about the Lakers job until Thursday afternoon, about 30 minutes after I was offered the job. And that was very intentional on our part…I understood he wouldn’t didn’t want to be involved in this. For my part, I didn’t want to go down the road of hypotheticals with someone I consider a friend and have a lot of respect for.

“For us, it literally came down to Thursday afternoon. I talked to him for about 15, 20 minutes and hung up. That was it.”

So what about the team’s previous pursuit of Dan Hurley? Hurley ultimately turned down the Lakers head coaching job to stay at UConn. Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka addressed Los Angeles’ pursuit of Hurley and how Redick fits into the conversation, via CJ Fogler.

“Right from the beginning, (Redick) was part of our Plan A coaching group that we really wanted to explore,” Pelinka said. “I think the most important thing is that throughout the process, JJ and I had direct and constant communication to keep each other updated on what he was going through with his previous work with the NBA Finals.”

Pelinka then explained that he informed Redick of the updates on the Lakers’ head coaching search.

“I think looking at how transparent we were with each other, even in the midst of what was happening in the media, I think it actually built our trust and our belief in working together.”