JJ Redick’s tumultuous first season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers has Bomani Jones questioning whether he’s a long-term fit.
There were flashes of brilliance during Redick’s season debut as head coach. But battles with the media and controversial coaching decisions that led to a first round exit brought his rookie year to a disappointing end.
JJ Redick has a lot to fix if he’s here to stay with the Lakers.
“JJ’s not built to be a coach in a sport that plays 82 regular season games … He’s gonna figure out how to deal with people better or he will not be long for this job.” pic.twitter.com/Zmm2H8ZJ8a
— The Right Time with Bomani Jones (@righttimebomani) May 2, 2025
“He is not built to be a coach in a sport that plays 82 regular season games and then has playoffs series. He’s simply wound too tight. He stormed out of the press conference before the game!” Jones said on Friday’s episode of The Right Time.
Jones noted how everyone loved to watch Redick battle with Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo and others during his run on First Take. But while Redick may have been embraced as a hot take slayer on ESPN, it’s not necessarily a character description fit for an NBA head coach.
“His game is not being warm and cuddly and likable. His game is being a jerk. It’s just a matter of whether or not it’s the jerk that you like,” Jones said. “That is not a persona that works well as the public face of an NBA franchise. That doesn’t work. So now, you get up there and you get defensive and you storming out of stuff before games and…then you start breaking bad with the media and the media, that’s elephants, boy. They’re memories are long and they don’t ever have to let up on you. Especially not after you lose in the first round.”
“What in this cycle changes?” Jones asked. “Nothing in this cycle changes. Either he is going to figure out how to deal with people better or he will not be long for this job. No matter how good he is at it. Because a big part of this job is not just about winning games, it’s how you hold it down when you don’t.”
He might be a brilliant basketball mind capable of drawing up creative plays with LeBron James, but managing the media and egos are crucial parts of being a successful NBA head coach. Redick must have known that when he took the Lakers job. It wasn’t long ago that he was an NBA player and able to see what made a successful head coach. And there’s no way Redick sat in locker rooms dreaming of a head coach who thought they were smarter than everyone else.
