Hall of Famer implies Redick would be disaster coaching hire

While the Los Angeles Lakers are in hot pursuit of their next head coach, there is plenty of speculation around which approach they will end up making with their hire. They can go with a very experienced assistant in the form of Sam Cassell, a younger former head coach like James Borrego, or they can get crazy and press the wild card button by bringing on JJ Redick.

As we evaluate how Redick would fit as a coach with no prior experience, we must remember that his connection to LeBron James will play a part in how he is viewed by not only the media, but by his teammates as well. As retired Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem pointed out, there is the chance that cynicism could invade the Lakers' locker room if players begin to feel distant from either LeBron or JJ because of the two's already established connection through their podcast.

There is already an outside perception that LeBron gets whatever he wants with the Lakers. Some also see him as one of the team's top decision-makers, with the head coach being simply a figurehead. Hiring JJ would only serve to substantiate these claims.

Recently, another prominent figure in the NBA landscape gave their take on the matter, sharing a similar but somewhat different perspective to the ones previously mentioned. On Fox Sports' morning talk show 'Undisputed,' 2008 Finals MVP and Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce made an appearance to discuss the prospect of the Lakers hiring JJ Redick. In doing so, he questioned the credibility of the former NBA guard-turned-broadcaster and podcaster.

Paul Pierce called out JJ Redick on Undisputed

"You hear him, and he sounds great, they draw up plays, and it sounds like the right thing to do," said Pierce. "Sounds like he has a great IQ, sounds like he has a voice or maybe a demeanor for coaching ... But it's like an Instagram model. It looks good, and then when you see it in person, it ain't what you think."

This is definitely a bit of an out-of-pocket comparison by Paul Pierce. But considering the message behind his words, he may have a bit of a point. It does not seem reasonable for anyone to try to discredit Redick's basketball knowledge. After all, he played for 15 seasons in the NBA and has been around the game his whole life. Certainly, getting LeBron to join him for a podcast discussing the X's and O's of hoops should not be a detriment to how well he knows basketball.

But Pierce's argument lines up from the perspective of it being something we have not seen work yet. Yes, JJ clearly knows his stuff when talking behind a microphone, and it is very possible that knowledge would translate to him standing on the sideline. But until we see it work, how will we know it is a good idea for certain?

Pierce has been known to say a few wild things on TV before, and he has never been the biggest fan of LeBron, so we should take his comments with a grain of salt. However, he may not be far off the mark in terms of JJ being a questionable hire.