Earning $35 Million Less Than Anthony Davis, Coach JJ Redick’s Biggest Challenge in Lakers Locker Room Highlighted by Hollywood Actor

JJ Redick has now added a new chapter to his legacy! By becoming the head coach of the Lakers, he is now entering a world in which he has had no prior experience, despite reportedly possessing a high basketball IQ and having spent 15 years in the NBA as a player. As highlighted by GSW’s HC, Steve Kerr, “You have to get through the bumps in the road and iron things out”. To solidify his position, Redick would have to ‘iron out’ one major thing that is sure to take place when guiding the players possessing a higher pay and more impressive resume than him.

Radio host Charlamagne Tha God and comedian/actor Andrew Schulz highlighted the most difficult thing while coaching an NBA team on Brilliant Idiots. It is “managing the egos” of all the star and veteran players. This challenge is personified when coaching a team like the Lakers, who have won 6 championships since the 2000s and currently host some of the highest-paid players.

“These guys are making hundreds of millions of dollars, nobody in their life tells them what to do, and then you got to walk in making far less than all of them and start commanding them to do things, get them to trust you, get them to believe in you, that’s the hardest thing,” said Schulz.

“That’s going to be the deciding factor. It’s not going to be like ‘What offense they run?’” he concluded. JJ Redick is reportedly on to a 4-year, $32 million deal. This is less than what he was offered during his final year with the Grizzlies before he was traded to the Mavs. Furthermore, this is also easily overshadowed by the 3-year, $186 million extension that Anthony Davis had signed back in 2023 ($43.2 payable to him next season). Knowing that they earn more than their coach, combined with the fact that Redick hasn’t won a Championship ring, it would be a ‘possible’ outcome for the Lakers’ roster to undermine their new HC.

The NBA world is quite aware that the road ahead will not be easy for JJ Redick. Many of his supporters, including his ex-teammate DeAndre Jordan, have explicitly stated that the player would be “up for the challenge” when facing the difficult road. At the same time, however, some have expressed that having a powerhouse duo like LeBron James and Anthony Davis may not be the best thing for him.

Fox Sports’ host once predicted that JJ Redick will never be respected by LeBron and AD!

Back in May, before Darvin Ham’s exit, Chris Broussard took to the airwaves. He had contemplated a JJ Redick candidacy from the ‘Mind the Game’ pod, which had Redick and Bron serving as co-hosts. Given that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis reportedly had issues with Darvin Ham, having someone with whom the lead scorer shares a joyful working relationship would be a welcoming change, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, Broussard didn’t think so. “He’s a contemporary of LeBron and AD,” he said in a segment.

“I don’t think they about to give you that respect. He’s LeBron’s podcast partner, you think that’s going to be some authority figure?” The 55-year-old analyst highlighted his opinion that Redick would be better off kickstarting his coaching career with a smaller NBA franchise. By using Stever Kerr and former Bulls coach Phil Jackson as examples, he highlighted the importance of starting small. After all, who would want to “coach a bunch of dudes who used to take them to the whole dunk on them and talk trash”?

Despite Broussard’s objections, Redick is now the new head coach. Therefore, until the beginning of the 2024-25 season, it won’t be rare for various theories to arise on how the future will look for the former player and the franchise he will take under his wing.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.