EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — J.J. Redick showed he could handle the job in his first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach, leading the team to 50 wins and the No. 3 seed.
That was enough for general manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers organization to give Redick a contract extension, Pelinka announced Thursday.
“Confidence and belief,” Pelinka said as to why he wanted to give his coach an extension after just one season. “We think he’s a special coach with a special voice that’s really helping us to continue to define the culture of Lakers excellence. We just wanted to make a clear statement that this is what we believe in, what we’re going to lean into, and what our players are going to mold into as we continue to develop the identity. I think having long-term planning is helpful as we build this team and go forward.”
There were no details on the extension, but Redick had three years remaining on the contract he signed just more than a year ago. A good guess is that this aligns Redick’s contract with Pelinka’s.
“I think it starts with just a high level of gratitude to the Lakers, to Mark [Walters, incoming team owner], Jeannie [Buss, team governor], and Rob for having that confidence in me,” Redick said. “And it’s not lost on me the sort of rarity of a first-time head coach getting an extension. Like I recognize how fortunate I am to be with an organization that supports me that way.”
Redick also discussed what he learned in his first year on the job, and how he plans to approach it in the future.
“I thought about a lot of things. You certainly reflect on the previous season, both successes and failures, and you do a lot of self-assessment, and that was really where I spent a lot of the first probably four to six weeks, was on sort of self-assessment,” Redick said of his offseason. “But I would say the two words that immediately, when you ask that question, pop into my mind are philosophy and methodology, the philosophy of how we want to play, the methodology as a coach of how I want to teach that. And so that’s where I spent a lot of time this summer.”
Redick and Pelinka talked all things Lakers for more than half an hour at the Lakers practice facility in the days before training camp opens next Tuesday. Among the topics covered:
• LeBron James’ future in Los Angeles. Entering his 23rd season, when he will turn 41, LeBron remains a crucial part of the Lakers’ attack this season. He will also be a free agent after this season. Will he return to the Lakers? Retire?
“The first thing we want to do in terms of LeBron and his future is just give him absolute respect to choose his story with his family in terms of how many years he’s going to continue to play,” Pelinka said. “He’s earned that right.”
Pelinka added, as he has before, that he would love LeBron to retire a Laker. Whether that happens or not is another question.
• Luka Doncic’s leadership. The Lakers signed Luka Doncic to an extension, and as part of that process, Pelinka and Buss traveled to Poland to meet with him and watch him play in a EuroBasket game for Slovenia. Outside of Doncic looking fit, it was his leadership that impressed Pelinka.
“I think the thing that probably stood out among many things… just his overall leadership tone and how he not only led by example, but he was very demonstrative in the practice in terms of his expectations of the team, how they played, their togetherness,” Pelinka said. “And I think just seeing that continued evolution and growth with him is not only a leader by example, but a leader with his voice really stood out to me, and I think it’s something that’s going to carry into camp this year.”
Doncic was shocked when he was traded in the middle of last season, then landed on a team with the commanding presence of LeBron in the locker room. Understandably, Doncic didn’t walk in the door a vocal leader, but that may change this season.
As for his improved conditioning, Redick said this is not just a one-summer thing, but rather a new routine.
“I get the sense from talking to him all summer or spending time with him, not only just here but at the Backstreet Boys, that this is his life now,” Redick said. “This is his routine. This is just a daily commitment to the new standard that he’s set for himself.”
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