“It’s All Weaknesses”: Gilbert Arenas Narrates Coach JJ Redick’s Biggest Challenge as Lakers Staff Hunt Escalates Concerns

Signing the contract was the easy part. The first of many challenges for JJ Redick is building his staff. As a first time coach right at the top of the team pyramid, it’s logical to want a staff that compensates for his inexperience. Something Gilbert Arenas very bluntly put this week on his show. How likely are the Lakers to follow this conventional line of thought? 50/50 it seems because among the names floated around for Redick’s staff, some of them are just as experienced as he is. That, Arenas warns, could mean a tough first year as a coach for Redick.

Speaking of Redick going from retired player to coach, he said on Gil’s Arena, “With any transition, it has to be tactical, it has to be smart. You have to really design your staff according to your weakness.” Given that Redick has a lack of coaching experience and championship history that makes fans doubt him, there’s no other way to describe the situation other than how Arenas says it.  And at this point, when you’re talking about being a coach, most likely it’s all weaknesses.”

Redick’s name was in the hat from the start, with other assistant coaches and the UConn head coach Dan Hurley’s name also floated. The Lakers’ head coach hunt ended where it began at Redick on June 24. They reportedly signed him for four years with an annual salary of $8 million. Details about the structure of this deal are not known yet while they’re still building the staff. By most observations, the Lakers won’t know if this gamble will work till at least the summer league.

“Because you don’t know what you’re gifted at once the game starts,” said Arenas. “So you need someone who’s great at designing functional practices.” He doesn’t just mean Redick’s self-designed 342 shooting drill he made to upgrade his efficiency during a 15-season NBA career.

“When the season comes out, you have to have an eye for days off, traveling. All that is part of coaching. It ain’t just we get on the court and I just make subs and sub in and sub out. That’s the easy part. It’s designing the layout of how the season supposed to run,” Arenas enumerated only one of the basics Redick will have to oversee. There’s little to confirm if the Lakers got the memo.

Lakers have as much to prove as Coach Redick

Certain names in the rumor mill are assistant coaches like Sam Cassell and Jared Dudley. But there are just as inexperienced retired players like Rajon Rondo in consideration. Fans would remember that LeBron James thought Rondo would make a great coach and he too toyed with the idea with Bron’s encouragement.

The options are iffy given the concerns Arenas listed. Barring Cassel (who has been an assistant coach since 2014, as recently with the NBA champions Celtics) the choices are just as inexperienced. Dudley, who won the 2020 title with Bron and AD, has been an assistant with the Mavs since 2021 withnot much to show.

The more confidence-inducing names in consideration reportedly are former head coaches, Dwane Casey and Jacque Vaughn. Fans even suggest Redick’s former coach, Stan Van Gundy to teach him the ropes. Similar to the HC hunt, the Lakers’ search for Redick’s staff takes them back to the drawing board.