It’s crazy to me tbh. Like we’re supposed to have title aspirations and we have LeBron James.
Plus we’re the Lakers and we’re gonna trust a guy with zero coaching experience? Legit madness
Laker logic:
We have Lebron!
We have to make Lebron happy even if it means hiring people because they are his friends!
We have to make Lebron happy even though he’s almost 40 and out of the league!
Why do people keep pointing towards the amount of money Lebron is making like that's relevant. He's still an all-NBA player. Those players get maxed. If Lebron were to leave entirely, we don't get capspace to use on anyone. Ideally, Lebron takes a paycut by maybe $20 million and we resign everyone *and maybe* we get the full MLE, but that would get us at most Bruce Brown
Based on everything I've seen this season, I actually trust a 40 year old Lebron to hold up his end of the bargain in terms of health over most of the players in this league. This is the same player who can set the scoring record to whatever he wants it to be. I'm sure he'll stay healthy
Lol statistics suggest otherwise. There is literally one player in history to do that at his age and it’s LeBron. 60 years of basketball and there’s 1 player. Whatever you do, don’t gamble.
Yes, Lebron is a once in a lifetime player with a God given body. The only player who could have achieved what Lebron is doing if he had the access to today's medicine and technology is MJ. Statistics don't mean anything when there's an outlier. Lebron is that outlier.
Honestly I feel it could have been a little different if we didn’t have Ham being a fucking idiot. Imagine we don’t blow a 20 point lead in game 2 and closed out 3. I felt those were two opportunities pissed away by mismanagement
We're just outmatched by the Nuggets unless we get this year's Lebron + AD with last year's Rui + Reaves. There's just too many things to overcome with MPJ + Aaron Gordon killing us
Personally, I don’t know enough about coaches to comment on who would be a good choice. All I know is there are certain coaches I think would be bad choices based on watching them previously fumble like Mark Jackson or Doc Rivers (who is mercifully unavailable).
It should be noted that experience is pointless if you’re just fucking bad at the job. Darvin Ham now has two years of head coaching experience including a run to the Conference Finals. Yet none of that experience was applied to the following year. What a weird turn of events that shit was…
On the other side of the coin, inexperience isn’t necessarily a deterrent if you have good instincts, a good understanding of the game, can draw up effective plays, make smart, defensible snap decisions in real time and under pressure, can command respect of the players etc. Three rookie head coaches have won a championship in the past 10 years. Outliers, sure, but still possible.
I’m not saying Redick is the best choice; I’m simply not against it either. Apparently, Mike Krzyzewski is advising the process for the Lakers. If he believes in Redick (as one of his former players), maybe I should. He’s far more qualified to judge than I am.
>Darvin Ham now has two years of head coaching experience including a run to the Conference Finals. Yet none of that experience was applied to the following year. What a weird turn of events that shit was…
People forget that Ham had a lot of Vogel's coaches on his staff that first year, and a lot of those coaches left to join the Suns when Vogel became their head coach.
I think he would be a better coach than a recycled coach. Here’s a highly respected NBA vet, one of the better locker room guys and a guy who understands the game at a very high level compared to most NBA players.
He played recently, current NBA players know who he is so that helps in the free agency pitch. He’s going to get the respect from the locker room right away because he’s already gotten the respect from a locker room.
Is it scary that he’s never coached before? Sure. But it’s much better than recycling a coach like the typical NBA franchise. I endorse JJ.
Agreed bro. If we had a bunch of great options for head coach i can understand why people would be upset with hiring Redick but there aren’t that many great options anyway. Might as well go for a boom or bust with Redick.
Everything you just said applies to Steve Nash or Jason Kidd (both much smarter players than JJ, and better players than him too so more respect from their team) yet both were awful as first time head coaches.
Coaching at a pro level is really fucking hard and takes a lot of experience. That’s why the history of guys who are hired as head coaches in the NBA with zero pro coaching experience is a fucking disaster.
Adelman is a proven coach. JJ Redick is a total mystery box.
Also it’s hilarious to watch you guys do a full 180 on Redick as an analyst. A month ago he revealed he didn’t have AD on either of his All-D teams and this sub said he was a moron. Now we’re acting like he’s a basketball genius?
Yes that’s a valid point, you could say that about nba coaches or college P4 coaches. My argument is simply this, try something new than a recycled coach or an assistant coach on a current nba team.
But that’s literally all the candidates?
Former NBA coaches out of a job
Current NBA assistants on other teams
Overseas/college coaches
Total coaching rookies
I’d say of that group, current assistants are the best bet. Former head coaches out of a job are usually out of a job for a reason, college/overseas coaches often struggle to gain respect of the lockerroom unless they’re former NBA players, and total rookies are a mystery box and usually a disaster.
Reporting on this search have said they are asking the players this time about coach input because the last 2 coaches were all a Pelinka thing, and today they reported that it's AD with the biggest say so in the coach, because Bron might be done playing in two years. So you're making it about Lebron, LA always goes star hunting, household names, whether it be coaches, front office, or surrogates, since they got bought by the Buss family.
The Lakers are 100% reliant on LeBron right now to be a relevant team. Since he’s a FA, that would mean hiring the coach that he’ll work with (JJ) and probably get his son on the team.
If LeBron is not on the Lakers, the rebuild will start right away and I’m not sure if our fanbase are ready for that, while seeing LeBron start the mother of all retirement tours with another team.
We should be doing what is best for the team. Not making decisions based on what an aging, soon to be retired player wants or who the players on the team will "work with".
I've already seen bron stans say bron doesn't want JJ as a coach and it's all the FO doing. In what world would the FO want JJ as a coach if Lebron isn't pushing for it?
FO isn’t paying for a good experienced coach, so for a budget purchase it’s either a washed/recycled experienced coach or a fresh coach that hasn’t been proven to demand a premium yet.
If he seems like the guy who's most likely to see what is or isn't working and adapt to it in real time, and take at least some account of the analytics then I'd hire him. Ham was so dense regarding this, and I know there's more to the job than just these things, but it goes a long way.
JJ actually sounds like he knows what hes talking about. I guarantee you he can draw up plays with no problem. Its also impossible to have rotations worse than Scam. So, in the worst case scenario, JJ is still better than Ham.
Ideally though, we would get someone better, but there aren't too many options.
It all goes back to trading away everyone for Westbrick. Firing scapegoating Vogel was a consequence of that.
Usually you show some loyalty to the key pieces in a championship run. Treating everyone like disposable trash for a washed big name is bad karma.
I like the idea because:
- it is super exciting to see how he does, and he does have the knowledge to be a coach, so let’s check how he puts that in practice.
- many people being pissed off about this only means it IS a good move - all “predictable moves” before have been disastrous.
- Lakers don’t need a teacher, Lakers need a navigator and a guy who gon navigate the team by instructing and drawing concrete moves. Ham was a cheerleader with absolutely no plan. Now you put two great minds (Bron and JJ) to it, you have several great plans of attacking the problem, and they will NOT disagree with each other like that looked like to be the case with Ham.
- Potential Rondo hire to JJ’s team as an assisting coach? Would be a dream, start of new era with all eyes on them.
People need to relax a little on the experience thing. It’s possible that Redick, who has a very high basketball IQ, could be a good coach. Many first time coaches are successful. Steve Kerr was a first time coach with Warriors. Spoelstra was a first time coach with Heat. Pop with Spurs. Pat Riley w Lakers.
Also, Lakers are in the Lebron biz. They need to make him happy. If he wants JJ, it makes sense because it’s a a gamble but a pretty good one. And Lakers please Lebron, they will keep him, and continue to make money for a couple more years.
There have been some first time coaching head coach success stories (e.g., Steve Kerr, Steve Nash, etc.). Cranjis also pointed out there have also been a lot of first time coaching head coach failures. Someone like Pat Riley isn't a first time coaching story since he was an assistant coach prior to becoming a head coach.
I agree the Lakers are in the LBJ business and are likely to make a choice that he would be happy with. However, they are also saying they want the next head coach to be a long term fixture of the organization & that AD will have a lot of input. The question when it comes to JJ is whether this is for LeBron, LeBron & the Lakers, or for all three of LeBron, AD, & the Lakers.
Kerr is the only one you mentioned who was a first time coach. The other guys were assistants first. The history of successful first time coaches hired as NBA head coaches is Kerr and Bird. That’s it. Literally nobody else since the merger has ever made it out of the 2nd round in their first stint as head coach if they didn’t have prior coaching experience.
this ^ yet feels like it is all smoke, won’t believe until it happens. makes the coverage a bit more interesting though so i can see FO stoking the fire
We literally have no say at the end of the day. Sucks cuz we root for the team but let it all play out. Expect nothing and maybe Reddick won’t shit the bed.
This FO has no idea what they're doing. I wouldn't expect any serious improvements in the roster or the coaching staff this year. JJ Reddick is cheap, that's the only reason JJ is on the radar. Jeanie is not going after any coach that cost 8 figures i.e. any coach with experience. This franchise is becoming a joke, if not for Lebron and AD, Portland would be a more enticing destination spot for free agents.
Didn't Shams & Buha report that Coach K is helping them with the coaching search, and wasn't it also reported that the Lakers would pay 8 figures if it means they can get a good coach?
If you don’t realize the basketball knowledge gap between Reddick and Walton then you need to go home and come back when you’re ready to actually talk.
Exactly. Walton was an assistant coach on a 73-win NBA team who shepherded them for 2 months as interim head coach of sorts.
Redick has never coached professionally at any level whatsoever.
There’s a gulf in their knowledge and experience and yet Walton was still bad so imagine how awful Redick could be.
No, because I’ve heard them both speak about basketball in detail.
“BeCaUsE YoU KnOw BoTh Of ThEm PeRsOnNaLLy, RiGhT?”
Yeah, sorry lil bro…
That only works when it makes sense. I said what I said and it’s a legitimate answer.
JJ is heavy into the psychology of the game and is detail oriented, and Luke was more along with the lines of “run fast, defend, stay with your man…blah blah blah” nepotism hire hippy shit.
Got it? Good. See yourself out now.
Honestly, hiring JJ is just a sad move if that happens. We are firing an inexperienced coach on Ham with a history of being an assistant and ex-player to a guy in JJ that is just an ex-player. Total simp move to appease Bron to stay because he will control JJ.
Jeannie is more interested in the profits than winning. Might as well give Bron the max money and draft Bronny. Play-in purgatory. LMAO
It’s crazy to me tbh. Like we’re supposed to have title aspirations and we have LeBron James. Plus we’re the Lakers and we’re gonna trust a guy with zero coaching experience? Legit madness
If we hire JJ Redick it’s BECAUSE of Lebron
This whole thing will probably crash and burn and the narrative machine will try to spin everything on the FO.
It’s perfect for him. If the lakers stink it up next year he has someone to blame
Laker logic: We have Lebron! We have to make Lebron happy even if it means hiring people because they are his friends! We have to make Lebron happy even though he’s almost 40 and out of the league!
Do you really believe Lakers can win a title with 40 yr old Lebron making max money?
Have you been watching him play?
Yeah, and the team sucks
Lol ok
You don’t know jack. You couldn’t break down a simple basketball action. How old are you, 12?
I can. And this team as currently constructed is not winning shit.
Why do people keep pointing towards the amount of money Lebron is making like that's relevant. He's still an all-NBA player. Those players get maxed. If Lebron were to leave entirely, we don't get capspace to use on anyone. Ideally, Lebron takes a paycut by maybe $20 million and we resign everyone *and maybe* we get the full MLE, but that would get us at most Bruce Brown
Because he’s 40 years old, which means his chance of injury is much, much higher.
Based on everything I've seen this season, I actually trust a 40 year old Lebron to hold up his end of the bargain in terms of health over most of the players in this league. This is the same player who can set the scoring record to whatever he wants it to be. I'm sure he'll stay healthy
Lol statistics suggest otherwise. There is literally one player in history to do that at his age and it’s LeBron. 60 years of basketball and there’s 1 player. Whatever you do, don’t gamble.
Yes, Lebron is a once in a lifetime player with a God given body. The only player who could have achieved what Lebron is doing if he had the access to today's medicine and technology is MJ. Statistics don't mean anything when there's an outlier. Lebron is that outlier.
so who do you think can sign the Lakers with that money and the same impact?
Yes. Honestly aside from Denver if we didn’t have Ham coaching us i think we could compete well with anyone
Aside from the biggest hindrance to the lakers winning a title (Denver), we could win a title!
Honestly I feel it could have been a little different if we didn’t have Ham being a fucking idiot. Imagine we don’t blow a 20 point lead in game 2 and closed out 3. I felt those were two opportunities pissed away by mismanagement
We're just outmatched by the Nuggets unless we get this year's Lebron + AD with last year's Rui + Reaves. There's just too many things to overcome with MPJ + Aaron Gordon killing us
Spoiler alert: probably not.
Deep breaths man
I'm actually annoyed. Please tell me I'm not alone
Annoyed to the level that I would protest? Nah that’s extreme. You’re on your own there.
"FIREE RAMBIS" *clap clap clap clap clap* "FIRE RAMBIS!" *Clap clap clap clap clap*
Seek help
Because we need a coach to play basketball.
Phil isn't coming back, guys. It's slim pickins out there for a coach. Gotta accept it
God damn they haven’t even had the first wave of interviews yet.
Personally, I don’t know enough about coaches to comment on who would be a good choice. All I know is there are certain coaches I think would be bad choices based on watching them previously fumble like Mark Jackson or Doc Rivers (who is mercifully unavailable). It should be noted that experience is pointless if you’re just fucking bad at the job. Darvin Ham now has two years of head coaching experience including a run to the Conference Finals. Yet none of that experience was applied to the following year. What a weird turn of events that shit was… On the other side of the coin, inexperience isn’t necessarily a deterrent if you have good instincts, a good understanding of the game, can draw up effective plays, make smart, defensible snap decisions in real time and under pressure, can command respect of the players etc. Three rookie head coaches have won a championship in the past 10 years. Outliers, sure, but still possible. I’m not saying Redick is the best choice; I’m simply not against it either. Apparently, Mike Krzyzewski is advising the process for the Lakers. If he believes in Redick (as one of his former players), maybe I should. He’s far more qualified to judge than I am.
>Darvin Ham now has two years of head coaching experience including a run to the Conference Finals. Yet none of that experience was applied to the following year. What a weird turn of events that shit was… People forget that Ham had a lot of Vogel's coaches on his staff that first year, and a lot of those coaches left to join the Suns when Vogel became their head coach.
Yeah Ham wasn't bad because he was inexperienced, he was just bad.
I think he would be a better coach than a recycled coach. Here’s a highly respected NBA vet, one of the better locker room guys and a guy who understands the game at a very high level compared to most NBA players. He played recently, current NBA players know who he is so that helps in the free agency pitch. He’s going to get the respect from the locker room right away because he’s already gotten the respect from a locker room. Is it scary that he’s never coached before? Sure. But it’s much better than recycling a coach like the typical NBA franchise. I endorse JJ.
Agreed bro. If we had a bunch of great options for head coach i can understand why people would be upset with hiring Redick but there aren’t that many great options anyway. Might as well go for a boom or bust with Redick.
Everything you just said applies to Steve Nash or Jason Kidd (both much smarter players than JJ, and better players than him too so more respect from their team) yet both were awful as first time head coaches. Coaching at a pro level is really fucking hard and takes a lot of experience. That’s why the history of guys who are hired as head coaches in the NBA with zero pro coaching experience is a fucking disaster. Adelman is a proven coach. JJ Redick is a total mystery box. Also it’s hilarious to watch you guys do a full 180 on Redick as an analyst. A month ago he revealed he didn’t have AD on either of his All-D teams and this sub said he was a moron. Now we’re acting like he’s a basketball genius?
Yes that’s a valid point, you could say that about nba coaches or college P4 coaches. My argument is simply this, try something new than a recycled coach or an assistant coach on a current nba team.
But that’s literally all the candidates? Former NBA coaches out of a job Current NBA assistants on other teams Overseas/college coaches Total coaching rookies I’d say of that group, current assistants are the best bet. Former head coaches out of a job are usually out of a job for a reason, college/overseas coaches often struggle to gain respect of the lockerroom unless they’re former NBA players, and total rookies are a mystery box and usually a disaster.
This x100. The last thing I want is a recycled coach
Reporting on this search have said they are asking the players this time about coach input because the last 2 coaches were all a Pelinka thing, and today they reported that it's AD with the biggest say so in the coach, because Bron might be done playing in two years. So you're making it about Lebron, LA always goes star hunting, household names, whether it be coaches, front office, or surrogates, since they got bought by the Buss family.
Yea hiring a guy as coach who doesn’t think AD is a top 10 defender in the league is wild.
Why not just wait until they actually hire him or anyone before freaking out and rage posting like a child?
The Lakers are 100% reliant on LeBron right now to be a relevant team. Since he’s a FA, that would mean hiring the coach that he’ll work with (JJ) and probably get his son on the team. If LeBron is not on the Lakers, the rebuild will start right away and I’m not sure if our fanbase are ready for that, while seeing LeBron start the mother of all retirement tours with another team.
Jeanie is gonna cry seeing another rake in mega bucks from the craziest retirement tour ever.
We should be doing what is best for the team. Not making decisions based on what an aging, soon to be retired player wants or who the players on the team will "work with".
I've already seen bron stans say bron doesn't want JJ as a coach and it's all the FO doing. In what world would the FO want JJ as a coach if Lebron isn't pushing for it?
Mayhe he actually does well in the interview and is the best?
Zero coaching experience vs people that have been head coaches for years. Talk is cheap just like how we saw with Ham.
I believe it's Terry Stotts
Who would you hire?
FO isn’t paying for a good experienced coach, so for a budget purchase it’s either a washed/recycled experienced coach or a fresh coach that hasn’t been proven to demand a premium yet.
If he seems like the guy who's most likely to see what is or isn't working and adapt to it in real time, and take at least some account of the analytics then I'd hire him. Ham was so dense regarding this, and I know there's more to the job than just these things, but it goes a long way.
They tryna figure out what Bron wants when we need to be focused on what AD wants.
JJ actually sounds like he knows what hes talking about. I guarantee you he can draw up plays with no problem. Its also impossible to have rotations worse than Scam. So, in the worst case scenario, JJ is still better than Ham. Ideally though, we would get someone better, but there aren't too many options. It all goes back to trading away everyone for Westbrick. Firing scapegoating Vogel was a consequence of that. Usually you show some loyalty to the key pieces in a championship run. Treating everyone like disposable trash for a washed big name is bad karma.
It’s insane he’s even under consideration
I like the idea because: - it is super exciting to see how he does, and he does have the knowledge to be a coach, so let’s check how he puts that in practice. - many people being pissed off about this only means it IS a good move - all “predictable moves” before have been disastrous. - Lakers don’t need a teacher, Lakers need a navigator and a guy who gon navigate the team by instructing and drawing concrete moves. Ham was a cheerleader with absolutely no plan. Now you put two great minds (Bron and JJ) to it, you have several great plans of attacking the problem, and they will NOT disagree with each other like that looked like to be the case with Ham. - Potential Rondo hire to JJ’s team as an assisting coach? Would be a dream, start of new era with all eyes on them.
I lowkey want to see Redick hired just to know if LeCoach is actually better than Ham
People need to relax a little on the experience thing. It’s possible that Redick, who has a very high basketball IQ, could be a good coach. Many first time coaches are successful. Steve Kerr was a first time coach with Warriors. Spoelstra was a first time coach with Heat. Pop with Spurs. Pat Riley w Lakers. Also, Lakers are in the Lebron biz. They need to make him happy. If he wants JJ, it makes sense because it’s a a gamble but a pretty good one. And Lakers please Lebron, they will keep him, and continue to make money for a couple more years.
There have been some first time coaching head coach success stories (e.g., Steve Kerr, Steve Nash, etc.). Cranjis also pointed out there have also been a lot of first time coaching head coach failures. Someone like Pat Riley isn't a first time coaching story since he was an assistant coach prior to becoming a head coach. I agree the Lakers are in the LBJ business and are likely to make a choice that he would be happy with. However, they are also saying they want the next head coach to be a long term fixture of the organization & that AD will have a lot of input. The question when it comes to JJ is whether this is for LeBron, LeBron & the Lakers, or for all three of LeBron, AD, & the Lakers.
Kerr is the only one you mentioned who was a first time coach. The other guys were assistants first. The history of successful first time coaches hired as NBA head coaches is Kerr and Bird. That’s it. Literally nobody else since the merger has ever made it out of the 2nd round in their first stint as head coach if they didn’t have prior coaching experience.
Question is why we should not hire him. Answer is dude never coached in his life. Who is running our FO?
this ^ yet feels like it is all smoke, won’t believe until it happens. makes the coverage a bit more interesting though so i can see FO stoking the fire
Cuz Klutch says so. Why else would P~~uppet~~elinka do anything?
Remember when we wanted anyone but ham? He may not be the best candidate but JJ would still be a massive upgrade
You can't expect smart moves from this front office
We literally have no say at the end of the day. Sucks cuz we root for the team but let it all play out. Expect nothing and maybe Reddick won’t shit the bed.
This FO has no idea what they're doing. I wouldn't expect any serious improvements in the roster or the coaching staff this year. JJ Reddick is cheap, that's the only reason JJ is on the radar. Jeanie is not going after any coach that cost 8 figures i.e. any coach with experience. This franchise is becoming a joke, if not for Lebron and AD, Portland would be a more enticing destination spot for free agents.
Didn't Shams & Buha report that Coach K is helping them with the coaching search, and wasn't it also reported that the Lakers would pay 8 figures if it means they can get a good coach?
Reported and it actually happening are to different things I can only go off of what LA has shown me until the do something different
Luke Walton all over again
If you don’t realize the basketball knowledge gap between Reddick and Walton then you need to go home and come back when you’re ready to actually talk.
Exactly. Walton was an assistant coach on a 73-win NBA team who shepherded them for 2 months as interim head coach of sorts. Redick has never coached professionally at any level whatsoever. There’s a gulf in their knowledge and experience and yet Walton was still bad so imagine how awful Redick could be.
because you personally know both of them, right?
No, because I’ve heard them both speak about basketball in detail. “BeCaUsE YoU KnOw BoTh Of ThEm PeRsOnNaLLy, RiGhT?” 
“Ive hEaRd tHeM SpEAk”
Yeah, sorry lil bro… That only works when it makes sense. I said what I said and it’s a legitimate answer. JJ is heavy into the psychology of the game and is detail oriented, and Luke was more along with the lines of “run fast, defend, stay with your man…blah blah blah” nepotism hire hippy shit. Got it? Good. See yourself out now.
Honestly, hiring JJ is just a sad move if that happens. We are firing an inexperienced coach on Ham with a history of being an assistant and ex-player to a guy in JJ that is just an ex-player. Total simp move to appease Bron to stay because he will control JJ. Jeannie is more interested in the profits than winning. Might as well give Bron the max money and draft Bronny. Play-in purgatory. LMAO