“Death of a Laker Fan”: JJ Redick’s Reported $34 Million Hire Deemed ‘Worst’ Pro Sports Decision of Almost 2 Decades

A few days ago, the LA Lakers filled a huge void after hiring JJ Redick. But, ever since the news hit the surface, the former NBA star has been at the receiving end of criticisms. The Purple & Gold side moved away from their tradition to hire a non-Lakers player as their coach. Apart from that, Redick has zero coaching experience at the professional level. Moreover, the side couldn’t lure Dan Hurley into the fold despite offering him $70 million! And this is enough for the critics to call it the “worst head coaching hire”.

In the latest radio show on Fox Sports, media veterans VJ Husky and Martin Weiss went critical of the Lakers’ latest hire. Starting off the topic, they dialed in Patrick, the producer of the show, who is also an ardent Lakers fan. The duo had a peculiar way of addressing Patrick, as they termed his disappointment with the JJ Redick hire as the “death of a Laker fan”. And, Patrick indeed seemed affected by the hire, as he began saying, “I’m just so done.” 

Following that, three of them went on a spree to dismantle the $34 million four-year deal. VJ Husky went it a bit further and called it the “worst” head coaching hire in the last two decades. In hindsight, this is the 4th coach in the last six years for the Lakers. Despite winning a ring and reaching the Conference Finals once in this period, the front office didn’t seem to be happy with their coaches.

On the other hand, Martin Weiss brought out an interesting angle, saying, “If LeBron in fact did not go tell Jeanie Buss to hire JJ Redick… then that means that the Lakers who again have had three coaches since Covid… It shows you’re a poorly run organization.” While some critics went against LeBron for the Redick hire, Weiss countered it, directing the attention towards the front office.

Moreover, the Fox Sports trio went on to predict the number of seasons that Redick can last as a Lakers coach. Patrick, despite being a staunch LA fan, predicted that he would last only for three seasons out of his four-year contract. Meanwhile, Husky and Weiss didn’t hesitate to bring it down to two and a half seasons. That calls for an obvious follow-up question.

Will JJ Redick shut down his critics?

The former Clippers star indeed has a lot of mouths to shut during his first coaching stint. Firstly, the fans and analysts criticized the 39-year-old for fast-tracking the hiring process by setting up a podcast show with LeBron James. On the other hand, some criticized Redick for his lack of experience. However, at the same time, there are a set of voices that think otherwise. Notably, the Lakers guard, Austin Reaves in a recent press interaction, said, “I have gotten to know JJ a little bit, going on his podcast during the middle of the year. He is a basketball genius.”

“I think he’s going to make a good coach,” Reaves concluded. Interestingly, the recent buzz in the Lakers nation is all about Redick, developing the Lakers’ third superstar. With Bron and Anthony Davis in the house, the Lakers have to fill a huge void which is to find a perfect third star. AR 15’s agent Aaron Reilly’s tweet about Redick’s big plan has something in store for the fans.

He wrote, “This coach is about to show a different part of Austin’s game none have you seen. Kept receipts on all that third superstar bullsh*t.” While Redick has both appreciation and criticism, only time will tell the verdict.

Before you go, do not forget to check out Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, to open up about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud. Keep checking this space for more such updates.