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With the Boston Celtics inked as the 2024 NBA Champions, teams are looking forward to next season.
That includes trades and new hirings—like the Los Angeles Lakers, who’ve been on the hunt for a new coach and reportedly hired JJ Redick as the head coach.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Redick has signed a four-year coaching deal with the Lakers.
ESPN reports that GM Rob Pelinka offered Redick the job Thursday morning after he was impressed with his overall basketball knowledge.
“Pelinka became sold on Redick’s ability to connect with players and his basketball IQ and believes surrounding Redick with an elite coaching staff will help shorten his learning curve into his first coaching job, sources said,” writes ESPN.
Redick’s been in the front running after the Lakers’ chase of UConn’s Dan Hurley soured. After a brief back and forth, the Lakers offered him a six-year, $70 million contract, which he turned down in hopes of leading UConn to a third consecutive NCAA championship.
Redick getting the Laker’s head coaching gig isn’t a complete surprise, given his Mind The Game podcast with LeBron James, in which the two skip the hot takes and culture talk in favor of getting geeky about breaking down basketball technique.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done to innovate in sports media,” James said in a statement to The Athletic upon its release. “When I do a project, the only thing I think about is whether me and my friends would watch it. That is definitely the case with Mind the Game. Everything doesn’t need to be designed for internet culture and clicks.”
See how social media is reacting to the reported hire below.
