Parachute or ready director? Beginner director Redic's challenge
Parachute or ready director? Beginner director Redic's challenge
Blog Article
*This article was published in the November 2024 issue of Rookie.
JJ Redic began his coaching career. Having played in the NBA for 15 years, Redic ended his career in the 2020-21 season. About four years later, Redic immediately took the helm of the Lakers, the most prestigious baseball team in the league.
a back-and-forth appointment process
For the past two years, the Lakers had Dabin Hamm at the helm. For the second consecutive year, the team has put the Lakers on the playoff stage. In the 2022-23 season, the team made it to the conference finals. Last season, however, the Lakers ranked eighth in the West and lost to Denver in the first round of the playoffs.
Last season's failure was a fatal blow to Ham. Ahead of the last season, the Lakers had Rui Hachimura, Austin Reeves, and DeAngelo Russell stay with them, and they beefed up their depth with the addition of Gabe Vincent. The Lakers, who spent the off-season fairly well, were evaluated as strong enough to challenge for the championship.
However, as I mentioned earlier, last season's performance was insufficient. As a result, Ham's position was greatly shaken. In addition, reports poured out that trust with the team was also broken. Under this circumstance, it was not possible to go with Ham. In the end, the Lakers replaced Ham despite the remaining contract period.
After the replacement of Ham Gaddock, the Lakers searched for a new coach. In the early days, names such as Redick, Mike Budenholzer, Duran Lou and Kenny Atkinson were mentioned.
Redic was mentioned as the most likely candidate among them. However, there were certain concerns about Redic. After retirement, there were inevitably concerns about leaving the baton to Redic, who had no experience in coaching, let alone coaching.
Also, Ledick was born in 1984 and is the same age as LeBron James. Although they are known to be close, there were questions about how much Ledick could control LeBron when the relationship between the coach and the player was established. Judonis Haslem, a Miami legend, also expressed concern over such matters.
However, there was someone who did not hesitate to praise Ledick. Mike Kryzewski, one of the greatest NCAA Tournament masters, is the hero.
"I think he has an understanding of how the roster is structured. He understands the professional game and has been desperate to be a coach," Kryzewski said after the news broke out. The Lakers is a coach position. They have to keep every player to a higher standard by winning. They will not treat Redic like a coach with first-year coaching experience. However, Redic was under a lot of pressure throughout his career and overcame many hardships. I think he is ready to take on the challenge."
In fact, Redic's appointment process did not go smoothly. At a time when there was a steady stream of talk about Redic, a new coach candidate emerged. Dan Hull, who led the University of Connecticut to a crazy victory in March for the past two years, began to be mentioned as a new figure.
In fact, there were reports that the Lakers offered Hurley a substantial contract. However, Hurley ultimately rejected the Lakers' offer and decided to stay in Connecticut. Hurley then signed a six-year, $50 million extension with Connecticut.
After being rejected by Hurley, the Lakers had no choice but to turn around again. Redick's trip to the Lakers, which had briefly subsided, began to be mentioned again. After such a back-and-forth appearance, the Lakers finally agreed with Redick, and Redick accepted the Lakers' coach.
Additionally, the Lakers had a spectacular lineup of coaches for novice coach Ledick. They hired Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks, who have served as coaches for a long time in the NBA.
McMillan has coached in Seattle, Portland, Indiana, and Atlanta. He has played 1,428 games in his career as a coach. McMillan, who recorded 760 wins and 668 losses in his career, resigned as a coach of the Atlanta Braves during the 2022-23 season. Two years later, he rejoined the team as a coach for the Lakers.
Brooks is also a veteran who has played 935 games as a coach. He spent his coaching career in Oklahoma City and Washington D.C. In the 2009-10 season, he also won the Coach of the Year award. Brooks, who served as Portland's coach for the last three seasons, is taking on a new challenge by assisting Ledick with the Lakers.
a novice director's challenge
Through such a noisy process, Redic took the helm of the Lakers. Starting a managerial career with the best big market team in the league may be a burden, but Redic has been leading the Lakers in a not bad direction so far.
The Lakers had received a lot of attention this offseason as well. However, contrary to expectations, the Lakers ended the offseason without much reinforcement. Some mentioned names such as Clay Tamson and Derma DeRozan, but the Lakers started the season without recruiting outside players.
Choosing Dalton Knecht in the draft was a significant accomplishment. After spending four years at the University of Tennessee, Knecht did not receive much attention due to his older colleagues, but was considered a Steel Pick during the draft. The Lakers added young blood to their roster after successfully picking Knecht with the 17th pick. After Knecht, general manager Rab Pellinka said, "If we had the 10th pick, we would have picked Dalton Knecht. It's great to pick him out of the 17th pick. I couldn't be happier."
In any case, however, the fact that the roster that experienced failure last season almost intact could have served as a disadvantage for Ledick. In addition, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the centers of the team 메이저놀이터, are aging one year older. Ledick, however, is taking the Lakers in a different direction than he did last season.
The part that Ledick emphasized the most in the offseason was the 3-point shot. The best in the league when he was active