“Who’s taking the bigger risk here, JJ Redick or the Lakers?” The narrative swirled in late June last year when the Purple and Gold made a decision that left the entire NBA community scratching their heads and asking, Wait, what? After all, it’s the Lakers we’re talking about. They’re not exactly a team you’d expect to be helmed by a rookie coach. But Jeanie Buss and Co. still took the plunge. Probably the biggest one. And eight months later, it’s safe to say they’re not regretting it. Redick has turned a squad many thought wouldn’t even reach the playoffs into a team sitting comfortably in the second seed in the West. How’s that for a change? What boosted them even more was the Luka Doncic trade. The beginning of a new era. Well, we all saw the impact in Dallas after the move, but what about the LA front office?

From breaking down NBA tactics with his red dry-erase markers on the Mind the Game podcast to masterminding strategies for all 29 NBA teams, JJ Redick was fully locked in for the Larry O’Brien trophy. And the rookie coach laid out his plan during media day itself that most of his plays would run through Anthony Davis. But then came a shocker last month — the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade. Now, Redick had to re-strategize. A clip surfaced on X giving a sneak peek of what went behind the scenes after that blockbuster move.

Redick arranged a meeting with his coaching staff. “I think the compact shell shift in low man on everything and not overreacting to them making a couple threes because they’re gonna take threes. And then this has to be like a no leak-out game,” he said in the clip. “We can’t allow them to get extra cracks at it because we will we will guard them if we do that.”

The 40-year-old was speaking to his coaching staff about how they would guide the team further into the postseason tournament. His strategy? Keeping the defense tight and organized, with the low man always on standby ready to help. With Davis out of the picture, the Lakers had no choice but to focus more on defense. While Doncic is undoubtedly a wizard on offense, his defense has been more talked about than praised.

Redick also reminded them that even if the other team drained a few 3-pointers, they shouldn’t overreact, that could throw the whole thing off. Moreover, they need to avoid players leaking out for easy fast-break points.

The trade could have sparked chaos within the coaching staff since it came out of the blue, no one was expecting such a change. But what prevented that from happening was JJ Redick’s leadership skills.

JJ Redick’s coaching staff sheds light on his leadership qualities

It wasn’t just Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis who were unaware of the massive change that would turn their worlds upside down. But turns out even the coaches were caught off guard by the move. That’s how tightly the secret was kept. But JJ Redick? He likes to be ready for whatever comes his way, no matter how big the surprise.

“I just love every single day that JJ comes to work. He is so highly prepared for the day,” the franchise’s assistant coach, Bob Beyer said. Giving more insight into how things run under Redick, Bob added, “We have a really, really good staff, a great staff, in fact. And he really likes to listen to everybody’s voice to get their input. And I think that’s just great leadership out of him as a head coach.”

That mindset is definitely working for the Lakers. And they are cementing their spot for the postseason. Initially, some thought that the chemistry between Luka Doncic and LeBron James would take time to develop, especially after the strong connection the 4x champion had with Anthony Davis. But Redick worked his magic, seamlessly stitching them together, and now they’re putting up insane numbers for the Lakers. And who knows, maybe just maybe this could finally be their season. Fingers crossed!