The Los Angeles Lakers have been a dysfunctional franchise for years.
The organization has been hampered by bad drafts and bad coaching hires.
And the Lakers’ new head coach raised eyebrows with one shockingly vulgar statement at his intro presser.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have been longtime rivals in the NBA.
The rivalry reached its peak in the 1980s when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entered the league and took it to new heights.
Before then, the NBA Finals used to be on tape delay.
Both the Lakers and Celtics had been tied for the most titles in NBA history with 17, but the Celtics took sole possession of first place with their recent victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Redick the new head coach
Now it’s the Lakers’ turn to grab headlines, and they did exactly that by hiring J.J. Redick to be the new head coach.
Redick had a 15-year NBA career as a sharp-shooting role player before transitioning into broadcasting on ESPN.
Despite zero coaching experience, Redick was hired to lead the organization.
And Redick dropped an “F-bomb” during his introductory press conference.
When asked about media perception of his hiring, Redick responded, “I really don’t give a f***.”
“I really don’t give a f–k.”
JJ Redick on misconceptions he’s looking forward to eliminating as HC pic.twitter.com/QnxC4oi1Wn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 24, 2024
Vulgar intro
An NBA locker room or sideline is not a family-friendly event, but coaches and players are expected to have more decorum when speaking to the media.
Casually dropping an F-bomb is a sign of how much cultural norms have decayed.
Many speculated that Redick got the job because he is buddies with star player LeBron James; the two even started a podcast together.
However, the podcast is being put on ice in light of the hiring.
Redick explained, “For the time being, and hopefully it’s a very, very long time, I am excommunicated from the content space. . .I’m done with podcasting for now.”
As a broadcaster on ESPN, Redick ruffled feathers by disrespecting players of bygone eras.
He once claimed that Michael Jordan’s titles were not as impressive because the NBA was watered down in the 1990s due to expansion.
The problem with that argument is that it cuts both ways.
Fewer teams means that Jordan’s Bulls would have had more depth and talent as well.
Redick also offended Laker legend Jerry West, who passed away a few days before the Celtics won the championship.
Redick said that past greats played in an era against “plumbers and firemen.”
“[Bob Cousy] had 29 assists in an NBA game.” – Chris Russo
“Well, he was being guarded by plumbers and firemen” – JJ Redick
Sir. 😲😂 pic.twitter.com/8qmeARNeOj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 20, 2022
West did not take too kindly to Redick’s comments.
Jerry West on JJ Redick’s “plumbers” comments
“He’s a smart kid but tell me what his career looks like. What did he do that determined games? He averaged 12 PTS a game. Somewhere along the way numbers count.”
Watch @SiriusXMNBA video for the full quotepic.twitter.com/erPM5Put2S
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 22, 2022
Redick has put a target on his back with his past statements and his lack of coaching experience.
James turns 40 years old this season, so he does not have many years left as an elite player.
Some would argue he’s no longer elite as it is.
Nevertheless, Redick is going to have to tie everything together if the Lakers want to be competitive in a very difficult Western Conference.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
