ESPN’s Shams Charania is up and running and the 30-year-old doesn’t mince words when it comes to opinions. Now that the fresh NBA season is about to begin in less than two weeks, Charania came up with a brutal dig at Darvin Ham, as he praised the Lakers‘ new head coach, JJ Redick. There were a lot of criticisms of Ham’s coaching stint with the LA side, but the senior analyst pinpointed the three skills that the former coach lacked.

In the latest Netflix sports docuseries, Starting 5, superstar LeBron James can be seen upset with Ham’s coaching decision to restrict his minutes. Well, it was just the tip of the iceberg. To be more specific, many weren’t happy with the former coach’s pick for the Lakers’ starting line, which kept changing in the initial phase of the 2023-24 season, leaving them with a 25-25 record after 50 games.

So, the point is that the list will keep extending. However, Shams Charania shrunk them and listed down the three skills that Darvin Ham lacked as a coach while Redick brought it with him for the new role. Featuring in the latest episode of Sports Center, Charania said, “JJ Redick is keeping it true to exactly how he is and who he is as a person and the three words that I hear from people around the Lakers are ‘Details, Accountability, and Structure’ that’s something that the Lakers felt like they were missing a season ago under Darvin Ham.” 

Clearly, there wasn’t any hesitation when Charania made that statement. We’ve truly walked into the new era in ESPN’s NBA coverage. Above all, Ham hasn’t entirely moved away from the coaching space. In fact, he was spotted, sitting alongside Doc Rivers on the Milwaukee Bucks bench, as the assistant coach. Ironically, the team faced the Lakers in the preseason game and suffered a loss.

Will JJ Redick bring the 5th championship for LeBron James?

In the first-ever media interaction as a Lakers coach, JJ Redick made one thing very clear. Although he saw the team as a championship-caliber side, he stressed his focus more on player development. As a reflection of the statement, the team didn’t really make much difference to the roster in the offseason. So, Redick sure does seem to have a set plan for the team.

However, so far in the preseason, the Lakers have lost two out of their three games. Especially, in the first game against the Timberwolves, the team had the opportunity to win the game with a final shot. Redick called for the timeout and drew up a plan for Dalton Knecht to take the last shot. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t go in. And, the fan quickly took to the comments to troll the coach.

Nevertheless, the players stepped up to defend the coach. Especially, Austin Reaves, who has triggered a high expectation, said, “The whole structure and foundation these coaches have brought in for us is a great start… The whole structure and foundation these coaches have brought in for us is a great start.” Looking at the confident statements from the Lakers fold, it looks like the West is on for a treat. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.