The Los Angeles Lakers rolled the dice appointing JJ Redick as their Head Coach before the 2024-25 season despite his inexperience. A lot of reports claim that Redick’s head coaching stint stemmed from his close relationship with LeBron James, which blossomed during their time together shooting for the Mind the Game pod.
However, Byron Scott, who coached the Lakers from 2014 to 2016, doesn’t think that the new head coach’s friendship with King James is all that he needs to run the team smoothly. He urged Redick to forge a strong partnership with Anthony Davis as well.
On his Fast Break pod, the 3x champion advised the 40-year-old to ensure that he connects with all the players on the roster. Scott believes that it is incumbent upon an NBA HC to build a solid reputation among his players. Because otherwise, there is a high likelihood that the team’s players wouldn’t respect him because of his lack of experience.
Scott also believes that Redick has to be assertive as a Head Coach so that the Lakers players take him seriously. The 63-year-old said,
“The main thing when you take over a head coaching position in the NBA, is you got to have the respect of the players… I think he already has a relationship with LeBron which is important. But he has to develop one with AD as well and the rest of the guys as well.”
“Then he has to be a no-nonsense type of guy, to make sure the guys understand that he is the head coach.”
Scott admitted that as someone with no experience in the coaching space at any level, Redick will have a hard time earning his players’ respect. However, he believes that the organization has surrounded the new HC with a strong coaching staff that can help him, like Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan.
Both these coaches have extensive experience and have had great relationships with their players. Their insights would be crucial for the rookie head coach to find open communication channels with his team.
Scott showed faith in Redick to do a great job in his first year itself. However, he pointed out the challenging landscape of the Western Conference.
Since the Lakers didn’t make any major moves in the offseason, he was worried that teams such as the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, would once again be ahead of them.
At any rate, Scott’s insights are invaluable as he served as an NBA head coach for 16 years. In fact, he won the 2008 Coach of the Year award as New Orleans Hornets’ HC.
Scott had a rather turbulent time with the Lakers. But he will hope that Redick doesn’t.