The jury is still out on whether or not JJ Redick is the optimal coach for Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Redick hasn't been notably bad at the helm of the Lake Show, but until he wins in the postseason with Luka, questions about the inexperienced head coach's fit will hover around Los Angeles.
Some people already feel that Redick isn't the right guy, NBA analyst Sam Esfandiari being one of them. Esfandiari recently argued on The Kevin O'Connor Show that Redick doesn't hold Doncic accountable enough.
JJ Redick might lack the Phil Jackson gene required to coach Luka Doncic
Esfandiari brought up former Lakers head coach Phil Jackson as a point of comparison for Redick. Jackson always held Kobe Bryant accountable for bad shots, Esfandiari pointed out, whereas Redick doesn't establish the same, cold-blooded degree of accountability with Doncic.
Esfandiari suggested that Luka won't be fully unleashed under Redick for this reason.
Opponents of Esfandiari's take might point to Redick's subtle comments in the media this season following a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, in which Redick stated that the Lakers weren't passing the ball enough.
Virtually everyone read Redick's remarks as a sly criticism of Doncic, and in turn, Luka's play improved.
Since then, Redick has spoken additionally about how the Lakers play better defensively when they move the ball on offense, suggesting that Luka needs to feed his teammates if he expects them to have his back on the other end.
Thus, the idea that Redick is completely allergic to holding Luka accountable isn't accurate.
But to Esfandiari's point, perhaps Redick isn't going full-throttle when it comes to this accountability, and that someone else willing to dig into Luka even more would derive greater results.
As of now, it's easier to criticize Redick for being too soft on his guys than it is to defend him as a bona fide head coach. Redick's treatment of LeBron James has often seemed a bit too friendly, at least in the press. After all, the two guys are good friends.
Evaluating Redick isn't a black-and-white exercise because even if you're going to claim that he's the wrong coach for Luka or the wrong coach for the Lakers, he has so many positive qualities that you must acknowledge.
In that vein, there's no doubt that Redick is going to become a very good head coach in the NBA, but the question for the Lakers is, how soon?
Redick is still an incredibly young head coach, and his lack of experience has been well-documented. His efforts to appear like a disciplinarian, especially in the press, often come across as try-hard and disingenuous. There's no doubt that Lakers players respect Redick, but deep down, do they really want to go to basketball war for him, or do they more so see him as a friend?
Both things can be true, and the Lakers certainly need them to be if they want to contend with Redick at the helm.