logo
JJ Redick reflects on his first season as the Lakers' head coach

JJ Redick reflects on his first season as the Lakers' head coach

USA Today08-05-2025

JJ Redick reflects on his first season as the Lakers' head coach
Generally speaking, JJ Redick did a fine job in his first season as the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach. He was hired last June despite not having any experience at either the pro or college levels, and the fact that he was a rookie coach, along with the fact that he had co-hosted the "Mind the Game" podcast with LeBron James, led many to criticize the hiring.
But he kept the team in one piece through several slumps and a revamping of its roster and style of play this season. Los Angeles finished third in the Western Conference, which was a much higher finish than expected, and while it lost in five games in the first round of the NBA playoffs to the Minnesota Timberwolves, its immediate future seems pretty bright.
After Game 5 of the Minnesota series, Redick reflected on his season and also showed a bit of humility when he mentioned what's next for him as a coach.
Via NBA.com:
'I've always felt like a team is a living organism,' he explained. 'And that season, you've got to feed the organism, and you hope that it's healthy. Certainly, every organism has some chronic issues, and you try to address those. Then when you come in after the season, it feels like a funeral. It feels like the death of that organism. In a moment of reflection this morning, I think that's the sad part and the disappointing part. We wanted this group to have an opportunity to play for a championship. We didn't deliver on that.
'As a player, I can remember vividly, a season ending in the playoffs. You get on the plane, flight back, it's quiet. You're writing down everything you want to be better at. That's no different as a coach. That's where my mind goes today, immediately. It's, 'How can I be better?' I'm going to take a lot of time, and thankfully, this offseason I have more time than last offseason to really self-evaluate, listen to my coaching staff, listen to players, listen to feedback from RP (Rob Pelinka) and figure out ways I can be better and ways I can help get us closer to that ultimate goal of hanging Banner 18.'
Redick has brought a new emphasis on detail, organization and data to a Lakers organization that had been criticized for being behind the times when it came to analytics. While it does need a starting-caliber center and better guard and wing depth, it now has a championship-caliber core for the first time since 2021.
In Redick, it also may have a championship-caliber head coach.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Why unrestricted free agent Khalil Mack returned to the Chargers: 'It was a no-brainer'
Why unrestricted free agent Khalil Mack returned to the Chargers: 'It was a no-brainer'

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Why unrestricted free agent Khalil Mack returned to the Chargers: 'It was a no-brainer'

Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack said his decision to return was not a complicated one because of the leadership and roster in place. (Vera Nieuwenhuis / Associated Press) Facing unrestricted free agency for the first time in his illustrious career, Khalil Mack could have chosen any team to chase his championship ambitions. Why did the star edge rusher choose to stick with a franchise that has never won the Super Bowl? 'Why not here?' the Chargers edge rusher wondered back. Advertisement Praising the leadership under coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz, the players on the roster and his familiarity with the franchise, Mack's decision to return to the Chargers wasn't that complicated at all. 'It was a no-brainer,' he said this week during Chargers minicamp in his first comments with local reporters since January. Read more: 'You gotta move on': Chargers' Justin Herbert focusing on future, not playoff failure In his last public comments, Mack was swirling in the disappointment of the Chargers' wild-card loss to the Houston Texans. The 34-year-old flirted with retirement. For a former two-star recruit who went to Buffalo, Mack has little else to prove at the professional level. Nine Pro Bowl selections. Three All-Pro honors. The 2016 Associated Press defensive player of the year. Advertisement But still no playoff wins. 'You're chasing that feeling of wanting to win important games deep in the season,' said Mack, who has gone one-and-done in the postseason five times. 'Being that I haven't reached that point yet, I couldn't give up on that dream and that goal for myself and for this franchise.' Mired in their own postseason drought, the Chargers have not won a playoff game since the 2018 season. Their last two attempts flamed out spectacularly. The 27-point blown lead in Jan. 2023 was the largest in franchise history. Last year, quarterback Justin Herbert threw a career-high four interceptions against Houston. Despite the jarring end, the Chargers' surprising 11-6 regular-season record in the first year under Harbaugh positions the franchise well for the long-awaited breakthrough. Wanting to continue the momentum was a key hope for the offseason. Advertisement 'l was begging and pleading with him to come back,' safety Derwin James Jr. said. 'I just knew for him to come back like that, he really loves us and he really wants a shot at it again.' Mack, who signed a reported one-year, $18 million deal, had six sacks and 39 tackles last season, a stark drop from his resurgent 2023 that featured a career-high 17 sacks and 75 tackles. Nursing a complicated groin injury, he missed a game for the first time in his Chargers tenure. But entering his 12th season, Mack insists getting in top physical shape is the easy part. On Thursday, Harbaugh was shocked when reminded that Mack was 34 years old. Mack was working with Chargers executive director of player performance Ben Herbert for weeks before the team started their offseason regimen, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. The workouts suddenly got so popular that one random weekday, Minter was stunned to see so many players that they could have held a defensive walk-through. Echoing Harbaugh, Minter called it the 'Herb Effect.' It has Mack under its spell. Advertisement 'Herb is a big deal,' Mack said. 'He was a big part of that decision coming back here as well. Just knowing the mindset that he has and how he thinks about the body. It's just the same approach and the same mindset that I have when I train by myself or with anybody else. I want to be a machine. I want to be as solid as possible, as strong as possible. Move people easy. And this program is all of that.' For the first time in his Chargers tenure, Mack is without running mate Joey Bosa, who was cut in a salary-saving move. After three injury-riddled seasons punctuated his nine-year Chargers career, Bosa signed with the Buffalo Bills. It's weird without his former teammate, Mack said. He recently texted Bosa about how different the edge rusher room felt without Bosa breaking the silence with awkward jokes. They will at least reunite at Bosa's wedding next year. Bosa's departure opens the door for third-year edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu to step into a starring role. The USC alumnus started 20 games in the last two seasons as Bosa struggled with injuries and had a career-best 8 1/2 sacks last season. Advertisement Read more: Rashawn Slater returns to Chargers minicamp amid contract talks 'Tuli is a special player, man,' Mack said. 'I've been saying that ever since he stepped foot into the building, what, three years ago now. … It's not going to be no surprise to me when he's a 10, 12 sack guy this year.' The Chargers drafted SEC defensive player of the year Kyle Kennard in the fourth round to bolster the edge room that also includes 32-year-old Bud Dupree. Mack's return was one of the first offseason moves the Chargers announced, and while he could have waited longer to entertain options from other teams as an unrestricted free agent, he chose not to linger on the market. Balancing financial decisions with his career and family, Mack kept a single focus. Advertisement 'It's just not wanting to give up on that goal and that ambition that I had ever since I had stepped in the league,' Mack said. 'I knew I wanted to play in important games and win a Super Bowl at least.' Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles Grand Slam Track meeting cancelled: sources
Los Angeles Grand Slam Track meeting cancelled: sources

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Los Angeles Grand Slam Track meeting cancelled: sources

Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track series has cancelled its final leg in Los Angeles later this month due to economic reasons (Ricardo Makyn) The Los Angeles leg of Michael Johnson's inaugural Grand Slam Track athletics series has been cancelled for economic reasons, multiple sources confirmed to AFP on Thursday. The fourth and final stop on the new circuit had been due to take place at Los Angeles' Drake Stadium from June 28-29. Advertisement However sources with knowledge of the situation told AFP Thursday that the meeting had now been scrapped due to "poor economics". An official announcement on the meeting's cancellation is expected later Thursday. Sources said Johnson was due to hold a video call with athletes and their representatives following Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Oslo to confirm the move. Reports in the United States and Britain said the cancellation was made due to the failure to secure adequate sponsorship and broadcast revenue for the league, which was launched in Kingston, Jamaica in April. Advertisement Ticket sales for the Los Angeles event had also been sluggish, reports said, with Britain's The Times saying the decision to cancel would save organisers around $3 million in prize money and travel expenses. The cancellation is a stinging blow to Johnson's hopes of revolutionising athletics through the circuit, which was launched as part of an attempt to reinvigorate interest in the sport after years of decline. Johnson's stated goal of Grand Slam Track was to produce a more concentrated format which promised more head-to-head races between the world's best athletes. However while the series was able to recruit stars such as US Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas and 400m hurdles icon Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, it failed to recruit a slew of top sprinting talent including the reigning men's and women's 100m champions Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred. Advertisement The series offered athletes prize money of up to $100,000 for their overall standings after participating in two races at each meet. However while athletes expressed enthusiasm for the series, there were clear signs it had failed to capture the imagination of fans. Swathes of empty seats were seen at the opening meeting in Kingston, while for the third meeting in Philadelphia, the program was cut from three days to two days. US Olympic 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin had been among the athletes expressing scepticism over Grand Slam Track's chances of success. "I look at it as a business," Benjamin said before the opening meeting in April. "At the end of the day, if there's no ROI (return on investment), then you have a failed business model. And it's like, how long could you be sustainable? Advertisement "They're not going to make any money this year, they're not going to make any money next year." Johnson however brushed off those concerns, adamant that the series would generate interest once launched. "I've started several successful businesses in my life and not a single one was profitable in year one," Johnson said. "That's not how you build businesses. "But when you say we're going to get 48 of the best athletes in the world contracted to go head-to-head, people start to pay attention." rcw/jc

Rams receiver Davante Adams shades former teams with 'dark cloud' remark: 'It's a glaring difference'
Rams receiver Davante Adams shades former teams with 'dark cloud' remark: 'It's a glaring difference'

Fox News

time4 hours ago

  • Fox News

Rams receiver Davante Adams shades former teams with 'dark cloud' remark: 'It's a glaring difference'

Davante Adams is feeling "rejuvenated" after his brief and unsuccessful stint with the New York Jets. However, the three-time All-Pro receiver seemingly took a dig at his old teams while praising his new one. "Everybody's in a good mood. It's not like a dark cloud over the building, and I've experienced that quite a bit over the last few years," he said. "So, it's a glaring difference when you come into a building like this." Adams, 32, signed a two-year deal with the Rams in March worth up to $46 million, and he joins a roster with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. However, Adams is not the only former Jets player to hint at problems within the organization. Aaron Rodgers revealed during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" in April that his final conversation with the team was "confusing" and "strange." "That was an interesting two years to say the least, but I figured that when I flew across the country on my own dime, that there was going to be a conversation," he said of the conversation when he learned that the team was moving on from him. "I wasn't upset about it, I was surprised," he added. "I felt like there wasn't an ample amount of respect in that meeting. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised based on some of the things I saw over the two years." Now both players have moved for the upcoming season. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store