JJ Redick Takes on the Challenge of Coaching LeBron James
JJ Redick has just embarked on one of the most daunting jobs in the NBA. It's official: He is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, having signed a four-year deal on Thursday.
However, the truly challenging aspect of this role isn't just coaching the Lakers. It's coaching LeBron James.
On the degree of difficulty scale, that responsibility ranks almost as high as it can get.
Yes, LeBron is still a stunning talent. Combined with Anthony Davis, he offers a substantial chance at success. Yes, LeBron's high profile and his basketball savant qualities are elements any budding head coach would crave to elevate the start of their career. And yes, coaching the Los Angeles Lakers is a big-time opportunity—one of only 30 such jobs on Earth, wrapped in purple and gold, and all the prestige that comes with those storied colors.
But there's also the undeniable pressure to win. Today. Or rather, yesterday.
LeBron's Coaching History
LeBron, with his exacting standards, frenetic drive, and ability to oscillate between affection and something akin to a freeze-out, can be as challenging as he is remarkable to coach.
Consider the coaching history that has surrounded LeBron's awe-inspiring career. LeBron has had eight full-time head coaches. Only two—Erik Spoelstra and Ty Lue—were not let go on his watch. Five coaches were fired, and Luke Walton "mutually parted ways" with the Lakers in 2019 before taking the job with the Kings.
King James wanted Spoelstra fired back in 2010, during his first year in Miami, which showcased Pat Riley's rare ability to tell LeBron no. This instance highlighted the intangibles and troubles that can arise when the glitz and promise of a LeBron James team hit some kind of not-as-sexy reality.
With Lue, he stepped into the fold after David Blatt, whom he was the top assistant to, got fired despite having a 30-11 record at the time of his dismissal in 2016. That team went on to win an NBA Championship.
It's also worth noting that while Lue and Spoelstra both won titles with LeBron, a ring does not inoculate one against later being dealt a bad hand and being fired. Three years ago, Frank Vogel coached the Lakers to an NBA championship. Two seasons later, he was gone.
The Double-Edged Sword
Saying coaching LeBron James is a poisoned chalice would be disingenuous, lacking nuance, and ignorant of his greatness. But the job isn't exactly a professional fountain of youth, either. LeBron James can bring you glory, but he can also be challenging in the extreme.
The point being: LeBron has power with front offices and locker rooms, and he's not afraid to wield it. As with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, part of LeBron's approach includes personality traits that could be seen as flaws if not for the greatness they help produce. Such is the case with stars. They shine incandescently, but they can burn you up too if you don't know how to navigate them.
The Current Lakers
The Lakers, as of now, just aren't that good. The LeBron-AD tandem is not enough. For two consecutive years, they've been dominated and sent home during the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets. LeBron will be 40 years old later this year, and the Western Conference that Redick will now be coaching in, with its immense pressure to succeed, looks unbelievably deep next season—perhaps even 13 teams deep.
Los Angeles not making the playoffs in Redick's first season is well within the realm of possibility.
Questions and Concerns
Does his podcast partnership with LeBron James protect him from the slings and arrows that can follow coaching an underwhelming LeBron James team? Does he have the temperament—perhaps humility and media-management skills—to ride out the bad and bitter times before things turn? Does having been on TV for 15 seconds make him a lock to successfully navigate the strange and wondrous terrain surrounding LeBron James' teams? And, most importantly, can he actually coach?
Maybe the answer to all those questions will be an emphatic yes. But Redick is about to test those questions in what may define this new stage of his career under the most challenging of situations: coaching LeBron James, where the stakes are high and the problems that arise will almost certainly be laid at your feet.