There have been times during JJ Redick's two-year tenure at the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers when Redick has looked no match for the massive responsibility on his shoulders. It's not easy being the head coach of one of the most storied and iconic franchises in all of sports. Nor is it easy to be compared to Lakers greats of the past.
However, some of those crippling comparisons for Redick have emerged not from the brutal public, but from within the Lakers' own organization. NBA insider Jovan Buha revealed on Friday that the Lakers' higher leadership likens Redick to former Lakers head coach Pat Riley, who delivered the organization four championships. "That's a very serious comparison internally for the Lakers," Buha said on the Run It Back podcast.
Lakers leadership compares JJ Redick to Pat Riley internally
As if Redick wasn't already dealing with enough pressure, now it feels like anything less than a dynasty during this Luka Doncic era will have Redick falling far short of the Riley comp.
On the other hand, there is job security for Redick inherent in this sort of ridiculous comparison. The reason Buha brought up the Riley comp, in the first place, was to respond to a faulty rumor created by NBA analyst/former player Jeff Teague, who suggested that Redick might get fired following the playoffs. Yeah, that's not happening, Jeff.
JJ Redick has done a better job with the Lakers than most realize
Ultimately, Redick doesn't need special treatment from the front office to feel secure about the job he's done in LA so far. The guy has produced back-to-back 50-win seasons and made the playoffs in both years, all with the Lakers undergoing a seismic roster shift (that Luka guy arriving) that Rob Pelinka hasn't had the means to properly craft, a task that begins this summer.
As I mentioned up front, Redick has shown flaws as a head coach, and he's shown his inexperience at times, but at other times, his character has emerged as one perfectly suited to lead NBA basketball players.
A first-round win over the Houston Rockets without Luka or Austin Reaves would do much to solidify Redick's status as one of the league's rising coaching talents. But Redick doesn't need that to convince himself or the Lakers that he can handle everything that comes with coaching the purple and gold. He does need to start wearing suits, though, if we're really going to run with this Riley stuff.
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