JJ Redick may very well be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
In fact, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday that the Lakers were zeroing in on the NBA on ESPN analyst as the frontrunner to be the team’s next head coach. While the rumor mill has linked Redick to LeBron James and Co. for quite some time now, it has begun to cast a shadow over the first and potentially last NBA Finals that Redick, Mike Breen and Doris Burke will call together.
Although Redick has remained silent about his future plans, he finally at least semi-acknowledged the ongoing rumors during his appearance on GoJo and Golic on Wednesday morning.
“My focus is on the NBA Finals. In terms of Shams, that will be addressed once the season is over. I’ll just say that.” @jj_redick addresses the elephant in the room — the rumors of the Lakers’ interest in him as their new Head Coach pic.twitter.com/6OwYnG5iHQ
— GoJo and Golic (@GoJoandGolic) June 5, 2024
“I would say this: my focus right now is on calling the NBA Finals,” Redick carefully said. “I am so fortunate that I’m in this position that I get to call these finals with Doris and Mike. And I mentioned the StateFarm thing I just did on YouTube; my day-to-day right now is consumed with calling games, the 19 different podcasts I feel like I have, and my obligations to all our partners. My focus in on the NBA Finals, I will say that.
“In terms of Shams, that will be addressed once the season’s over.”
Redick cleverly hinted at his future plans without giving a definitive answer. Understandably, he wouldn’t want to overshadow his first NBA Finals broadcast by discussing his next move. However, his comments raise questions about the future composition of ESPN’s top NBA announcing team, especially considering the potential impact on their coverage of the Boston Celtics-Dallas Mavericks series and beyond.
As for Redick, he did clarify that he didn’t mean he’d address any job but Charania’s reporting in particular. It remains to be seen what that actually means, but unsurprisingly, Redick is playing things close to the vest as he attempts to be coy about his next move.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.