The Los Angeles Lakers shocked the masses when they gave one of the most high-profile jobs in sports to an entirely unexperienced candidate. 13 games into the 2024-25 regular season, however, the decision to hire JJ Redick is looking like one of Rob Pelinka's best decisions to date.
Redick has hit the ground running, providing the Lakers with the tools to not only exceed expectations, but build something that appears to be sustainable.
Redick and the Lakers are off to a sensational start to the 2024-25 regular season. Los Angeles is currently 9-4, with a sterling 6-0 record at home and a below-.500 yet respectable 3-4 mark on the road.
At the heart of that success has been a system that seems to place a significantly stronger emphasis on both on-ball and off-ball movement.
A 13-game sample size is admittedly limited, but there are promising signs worth acknowledging. At multiple turns, Redick has passed crucial tests that have earned him an A-plus grade for the first stage of his debut season as an NBA head coach.
That all begins with Redick's uncanny ability to encounter adversity and help his team navigate the potential pitfalls of it.
3. Poise in the face of adversity
Los Angeles has encountered its share of hurdles early in the 2024-25 regular season. That all begins with the fact that injuries have, yet again, dismantled the second unit—with Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood missing every game thus far.
Redick has stood tall in the face of adversity, making changes to the rotation that have enabled the Lakers to overcome a new rush of injuries to Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, and Jaxson Hayes.
If that weren't enough, Los Angeles faced the trials and tribulations of an unfavorable schedule as soon as the campaign began. It was forced to play a back-to-back during its second and third games of the regular season, and immediately embarked on a five-game road trip.
Los Angeles struggled mightily, compiling a 1-4 record during the spell away from home, but has since responded by winning five consecutive games.
That's been the theme of Redick's tenure through 13 outings. Whenever something goes wrong, he's taken a step back, evaluated the bigger picture, and made a decision that can help his team overcome whatever it is that may be plaguing them.
That circles back around to the discussion about the second unit, which Redick fixed by making one of the most controversial decisions of the 2024-25 season thus far.
2. The D'Angelo Russell decision
Shams Charania, Jovan Buha, and Sam Amick of The Athletic released a scathing report in April that went into detail about how Darvin Ham lost the locker room. One of the primary takeaways from their article was that Ham's decision to bench D'Angelo Russell without adequately communicating the thought process behind the move alienated the locker room.
Fast forward to 2024-25 and Redick made the bold decision to remove Russell from the starting lineup—and with ideal communication, he's created a significantly better version of the Lakers.
Moving Russell to the second unit is among the most important decisions Redick has made thus far. Prior to the move, the Lakers' bench was scoring a mere 20.6 points per game and producing a net rating of minus-3.6—both of which ranked among the worst marks in the NBA.
Since Russell became Los Angeles' sixth man, however, the second unit is scoring 29.6 points per game and has a net rating of plus-8.6—the third-best mark in the NBA during that time.
Redick identified the inescapable flaw that was plaguing the second unit: None of the available players were true shot creators. The starting lineup was thriving, even as Russell struggled with his own efficiency, but the bench was putting an unsustainably massive burden on the starters' shoulders.
By communicating with Russell to facilitate a healthy change to the rotation, and thus empowering Cam Reddish to thrive as a primary defender, Redick enabled the Lakers to go on a five-game winning streak and alter the dynamic of the team.
1. Making Anthony Davis the offensive focal point
The single biggest decision that Redick made was the firm commitment to featuring Anthony Davis, rather than LeBron James, as the focal point on offense. It was a logical choice, as James will turn 40 in December and Davis is in the prime of his career, but that didn't make it any easier.
James is not only one of the greatest players of all time, but he continues to perform at an All-NBA level and won Olympics MVP earlier this year—facts that Redick respected, but wasn't deterred by.
The result of Redick's commitment to Davis has been a shift toward an identity and string of success that could be sustained beyond the 2024-25 season. He embraced the challenge of building for a post-James era, all the while embracing the importance of figuring out how the four-time MVP fits.
James is averaging his fewest points per game since his rookie season, but his impact and involvement remain superstar-caliber—while Davis has fully embraced the burden of a No. 1 player.
Davis currently ranks No. 2 in the NBA in scoring, No. 6 in blocks, and No. 8 in rebounding. He's pacing the Lakers through victories with his dynamic scoring arsenal, including the highly-anticipated return of his three-point shot, and dominant defensive presence.
Many were skeptical of the decision to change the offensive focal point from James to Davis, but the early results have proven Redick right for the gamble he took.