Dan Hurley may have been offered the Lakers head coaching job, but JJ Redick is the one who accepted it and that’s all that really matters.
Everyone wants to be wanted and to feel like they are important and matter. So, it has to feel odd to know that while you got the job, everyone knows your employer aggressively pursued someone else.
That’s the situation JJ Redick finds himself in. Everyone watched the Lakers go hard after UConn’s Dan Hurley before being spurned by him and returning back to Redick.
On Monday at his introductory conference, he was asked about being in the middle of that situation as it played out in recent weeks. He peeled the curtain back and shared his perspective on the timeline of events.
“I was getting ready to call Game 1 of the NBA Finals when the Dan Hurley news broke” Redick said. “[Vice president of basketball operations] Rob [Pelinka] was quick to call me. We had a great conversation. During that whole four-day period, at no point was my ego or feelings hurt or bruised in any way. Dan Hurley is a two-time national champion at UConn. I am a two-time 55 Swish League champion in the third and fourth grade division. I understood, you know. I understood.”
As competitive and focused as Redick is, it takes a lot of humility to acknowledge someone else was fit for the job and could’ve potentially gotten it had they just accepted the offer.
Being an NBA coach is a complicated job but one of the most important factors is dealing with problems, coming out of them with a positive result and handling questions regarding said situation daily.
If this is how Redick will deal with any problems that happen in Southern California during the 2024-25 season, then he will do a good job on the PR front at the very least.
Redick has been linked to the Lakers since the moment Darvin Ham was let go. While the process took weeks and weeks and other names like Hurely emerged, the Duke alumnus is the Lakers coach in the end and that’s all that matters.
Like many things, it comes down to results. And as Redick has made it clear, he doesn’t care what you think he has to prove.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
