It’s never a bad thing to keep your options open.
And that’s exactly what Rob Pelinka, Jeannie Buss and the Los Angeles Lakers did in this search to find their organization’s next head coach.
Initially, the Lakers interviewed all safe candidates. Popular names in this tournament like Kenny Atkinson, James Borrego and Chris Quinn were initially named as favorites to watch.
While these interviews were being conducted, corners of the Internet were asking the obvious question:
“Why don’t they interview JJ Reddick?”
It seemed pretty obvious to at least bring Redick in for an interview. There were some loose reports of mutual interest, but nothing official was ever achieved. With the connection to LeBron James and the certified basketball acumen on display on their podcast, Redick seems to check every box of intriguing candidates for the Lakers.
But then, a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski shocked the basketball world; The Lakers were all-in on Dan Hurley.
Hurley Watch has taken Laker Nation by storm. From tracing his journey to the West Coast to his journey Back to the East Coast for a Billy Joel concertall the way to monitoring Andrea Hurley’s body language an hour before Hurley announced his decision in a highly anticipated practice.
It looked like the Lakers were all in on Hurley, though Kind of downplayed in the official contract Displays.
after Hurley officially rejected the Lakers To stay at the University of Connecticut, Los Angeles did the sensible and obvious thing and brought Redick in for an interview.
On Thursday afternoon, Redick was officially named head coach of the Lakers.
There’s nothing wrong with keeping your options open, and the Lakers did just that. They always knew they could lean on Redick and appease their star, James, if their big swing at the best coach in college basketball didn’t work out.
The Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons weren’t serious about dealing Redick. Not to the level the Lakers were at.
Everyone online thinks Redick will definitely fail. He has no coaching experience, but his basketball knowledge is unquestionable. His relationship with James as well.
In this search, the Lakers played perfectly. Although the public swing and loss of the biggest name in college basketball was a bit of a mistake, they got back exactly what they likely planned.
If Redick has great success and teams up well with James in a new deal, this hire looks like a genius.