The Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of hiring former NBA veteran JJ Redick as their new head coach and this news has split the NBA world into two. The fans are looking forward to watching Redick guide the LA unit from the sideline. However, many veterans and coaches are not on board to see the 39-year-old land the head coaching job. A former Denver Nuggets head coach threw light into the flaws of Redick, even before he officially entered the realm of coaching. However, the criticism this time was a bit harsh.

2013 Coach of the Year, George Karl, has publicly rejected the idea of the Lakers hiring JJ Redick. He has openly mocked this potential move on X, and his frustration reached its peak when his friend Darvin Ham was fired from the coaching job. Today, reports stated that the Lakers are “zeroing in” on hiring Redick and Karl vented his frustration once again. 

The 73-year-old tweeted, “It’s kinda like the start of a joke…One of the most hated Dookies ever, with zero coaching experience, is offered the ultimate head coaching position with the LA Lakers.” Karl has mentioned the coaching experience as a factor in eliminating Redick several times. He did it once again and this will probably be the last time because things are about to get official soon. 

George Karl spent two years as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs before he took up the head coaching job for the Montana Golden Nuggets. He won the Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1983 during the ABA era in the 1980s. So Karl’s above words might hold weight. Not just Karl, but many NBA icons have emphasized zero coaching experience as a flaw. However, the NBA has its exceptions too.

JJ Redick wouldn’t be the only coach without experience

The Golden State Warriors can be taken as a prime example for choosing rookie head coaches without any prior experience. In 2011, they hired Mark Jackson, who took up the coaching job for the first time in his career. Although his first season with the Warriors was a failure, he changed things around in his second season, that is in 2012-13.

He led the Warriors to the playoffs by finishing sixth in the Western Conference. He also made it to the Conference Semi-Finals but lost to the Spurs 4-2. The following year, he helped the Warriors to reach the 50-win mark, but once again lost in the first round of the postseason. He was later removed as the head coach and the Warriors went on to hire Steve Kerr, who did not have prior coaching experience. 

Steve Kerr, along with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green delivered their first championship in 2015. It was just Kerr’s second season as a coach in the NBA. JJ Redick finding a similar result, thus, wouldn’t be impossible. However, the answer only comes with time. 

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video: