Former NBA star Steve Francis criticized the Los Angeles Lakers for hiring JJ Redick as their new head coach after parting ways with Darvin Ham. Francis accused the Lakers of being swayed by Redick’s broadcasting background and his college career at Duke, despite Redick having no prior coaching experience at the professional level.
“I love basketball, but there’s no way that just because he went to Duke, and he criticizes people on television like he sounds like a great coach,” said Francis on the Live From The District podcast.
“But I look at it like all these other guys who put a lot of significant work in, you have my boy David Vanterpool here in Washington, you have Sam Cassell, you have so many guys who have championship experience. All these guys who have experience and get looked over just because it’s the ‘it’ thing right now with generation cuz these guys are doing these podcasts.” (From 23:54 onwards)
Francis, who shared the 2000 Rookie of the Year honors with Elton Brand, confidently claimed that the team’s superstar LeBron James will “not listen” to anything coach Redick has to say.
The three-time NBA All-Star also suggested he wouldn’t fault LeBron for disregarding instructions from a first-time head coach.
“The thing that’s going to happen is just like Darvin Ham was the coach. LeBron is not going to listen to not one word JJ is saying,” Francis continued.
“Why would you listen to him? I wouldn’t listen to him if he was coaching me. I’ll just look at how much I bake him and be like, ‘What are you saying? You know what I do, so talk to somebody else’.”
Steve Francis addresses the pressure facing JJ Redick
Coaching the Lakers comes with immense pressure, as the franchise is constantly in the spotlight. Steve Francis believes that for a first-time head coach like JJ Redick, the challenge will be even tougher, especially with the added “circus” surrounding LeBron James and his son Bronny.
“It’s definitely going to be hard for him to get through and the camaraderie with the circus around him and his son, it’s going to be a lot of distraction for a rookie coach and we’ll see what happens,” said Francis.
Additionally, the former NBA player predicted that Redick will face difficulties in maintaining control of the Lakers’ locker room.
“There is no chance that JJ Redick is going to be able to command that locker room,” Francis continued. “Yeah, him and LeBron can sit there, drink wine together, and break down plays, but it’s a little different when you got 20,000 people screaming at you, and you have 11 other players that you have to manage as well.”
The Lakers have played three preseason games under JJ Redick, holding a 1-2 record. Based on recent media statements, the players appear enthusiastic about working with Redick and his staff following Darvin Ham’s two-year tenure.
However, it remains to be seen if this positive sentiment will hold if the season takes a challenging turn. There’s no doubt that Redick will face intense scrutiny once the regular season kicks off on Oct. 22.
