But Redick doesn't want to be back in uniform, no matter what this pure shooter's body language is saying these days. When asked recently if he enjoys playing more than coaching, Redick quickly replied: “Yes.”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out for the last six months, honestly,” he said when asked why. “I think anybody that was around me as a player knows how much I enjoyed the job every day, and knows how grateful I was to be in the NBA every day, and very grateful to have a 15-year career.”
He paused and added: “I like this more.”
The 40-year-old Redick was only three years removed from being Luka Doncic's teammate during his final playing season when he took over the Lakers with absolutely no coaching experience.
He attacked his new job with the intensity of his playing days, and he has showed immediate acumen: His Lakers won 50 games and the Pacific Division title despite shaking up their core at midseason with that blockbuster trade to acquire Doncic.
His year was tumultuous away from the Lakers as well: His family lost its home to the wildfires in Pacific Palisades. Redick is undoubtedly exhausted, but he's still pouring hours into figuring out how the Lakers can come back against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who routed his team in the series opener Saturday.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
Redick already knows that being the Lakers’ head coach comes with infinite layers of scrutiny, but particularly from the many former Lakers players who have built media careers examining the current team — and usually finding it lacking.
When the Lakers lost Game 1, Magic Johnson immediately jumped onto social media to criticize the coach, saying Redick "didn't do a good job."
Like any player, Redick knows the only way to answer critics is by winning — but he also knows he’s still in the process necessary to achieve all of his goals in his second career.
“As a coach, you’re obviously judged on regular-season wins and losses and your ability to get to the playoffs,” Redick said. “But I think the other two things that you’re really judged on (are) the way you’re able to handle the pressure of the playoffs, the adjustments, the in-game stuff — there’s still so much work that we have to do — and then I think you’re also judged on the culture you create, and whether or not your players and everybody in the building like coming to work.”
Redick thought about becoming a coach for most of his playing career, and he learned from each of his own coaches, including Mike Krzyzewski and Stan Van Gundy. He's already enjoying significant success with the Lakers, who almost always look more prepared and more focused than they did last season under Darvin Ham.
Although Redick wasn't a finalist for the NBA Coach of the Year award, the Lakers by most measures had their second-best season since the end of the Phil Jackson era in 2011.
Redick isn't ready to reflect on his first coaching season, however. He's still learning, and they're still playing.
“Other than my house burning down in the Palisades Fire, nothing has surprised me, because I went into this with a very open mind and a baseline level of knowledge,” Redick said. “And though I didn’t have experience as a coach, I had 15 years of experience in the NBA, (and) I've been a part of a bunch of different locker rooms in a bunch of different situations, so I’ve kind of seen a lot. But truthfully, there’s a different challenge every day.”
Redick accepted a high degree of difficulty for his first job when he took over arguably the NBA's highest-profile franchise. He was off to a solid start when the Lakers traded Anthony Davis for Doncic just 2 1/2 months before the playoffs.
A team that built its identity around Davis' dominant defensive play had to become something else to maximize Doncic's strengths — and to mask its new weaknesses. That change became even tougher when the Lakers couldn't acquire a center at the trade deadline, forcing them to continue without a true rim protector.
The Lakers have been inconsistent down the stretch, but Redick is still looking for solutions, even as the playoffs add exponential urgency. That's exciting and encouraging to players like Austin Reaves.
"I had talked to him a couple of times previously and I knew his IQ of the game, but obviously there was all the talks about he’s never coached at any type of high level,” Reaves said. “Since Day One, he’s been super professional and super locked into one goal, which is getting (out of us) what the coaching staff wants. I can’t give him enough credit for what he’s done for me.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP