Sports analyst Ric Bucher has voiced his strong opinion on the possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers hiring JJ Redick as their new head coach.
Redick, reportedly a frontrunner to replace Darvin Ham, who was fired at the end of the season, has no coaching experience.
Bucher believes hiring Redick would be a disaster for the Lakers but great for the media. “Yes, it would be a mistake,” he said on Speak.
He elaborated, “I’m praying that they do this because it would be the most comical thing that we’ve ever seen. The potential for soap opera-like things happening would be off of the charts.”
Bucher dismissed the comparison between Redick and legendary coach Pat Riley. “Pushing back on the Pat Riley comparison, which seems insane, right? Right off the bat,” he commented.
He added, “We’re taking a guy who’s never coached before at any level other than maybe his kids, and we’re now going to put him up with one of the most iconic coaches in certainly Lakers history and in NBA history.”
Bucher criticized the idea that Redick’s media background and role as a former player makes him similar to Riley.
“We’re going to say because they were both in media and were role players in the NBA as players and now they’re going to coach the Lakers, so they must be the same. It sounds like a Hollywood movie pitch,” he said.
He continued, “I don’t need a guy who looks like a coach or acts like a coach, I need a guy who’s going to be the coach.”
The Lakers are still in the process of selecting their new head coach, with Redick’s name generating significant debate and media attention.
