The passing of Jerry West put some things in perspective for me in terms of the current situation the Lakers find themselves in. The 1st thing folks want to do is compare JayJay Redick to Pat Riley or Steve Kerr or even Eric Spoelstra. But what we fail to realize is the common thread that runs through Riles & Kerr and ultimately to Spo (thru Riles) is Jerry West. I don’t think they have the same success without that guiding hand, mentorship, and presence in that office down the hallway. I hated the way he was portrayed in that Winning Time series (hell, just about everyone came out looking bad in that thing) but you can really tell how influential the man was when you read the tributes by the guys who worked under him (Ty Lue included).
So now I look at JayJay as a potential coach. No doubt, he has a good “basketball mind” (most guys who spent their life in the game do) but who’s gonna be his Jerry West? That part really eats at me. I suspect that it may be one of many reasons for Hurley turning down the job. Who’s gonna be the architect of the future? Who has the plan? Is there a plan? If you say Rob Pelinka then…..we got a problem. We tried to compare him to Bob Myers…but guess what? Jerry West mentored him too!!!!!
Sometimes it just feels like we need a grown-up in the room.
You make so many good points, Mongo. As the son of an entrepreneur, I can understand why Jeanie wants to hold onto the Lakers and her role as the franchise’s governor and final decision maker. She has her network of trustworthy allies and it’s doubtful that will change for the foreseeable future.
We can wish she would see how hiring Bob Myers to take over could double the value of the Lakers but the best we can do is hope they hire a coach who somehow someway can turn out to be a legacy coach who will provide the team with an identity and develop a championship culture and chemistry.
For me, that’s where JJ Redick comes in. Of course, he’s the typical out-of-the-box both logical and risky solutions everybody knows I love but I give Rob and Jeanie credit for being inspired. There will obviously be lots of bumps along the way but I think JJ is exactly the kind of person who could be the visionary we need.
I do agree he needs a visionary. I’m sure there will be some discussions the next few days with the Finals all but over about staff. Be great to have Stan Van Gundy, whom JJ played for, maybe as that mentor/lead assistant. Also might be good to have somebody who is great as a defensive coordinator to balance JJ’s obvious offensive bent.
Anyway, I’m thrilled. We’re lucky to have avoided Hurley imo and JJ will modernize our offense and take and make a lot more threes w/o sacrificing PIP & FTM.
Something I didn’t notice until recently, but we had the #2 scoring offense in the West last season. That wasn’t the problem; it was the defense.
As for JayJay…I just don’t see how he’s suddenly considered to be some kinda Messiah of Basketball. I give a ton of credit to his agent & PR team. I’ve watched the podcast…nothing revolutionary there. Basketball Xs & Os aren’t that complicated cuz there just aren’t that many moving pieces. Pick & Roll has been around since the game was invented and it’s still damn near unstoppable when run correctly. Schemes are only gonna get you so far.
Meyers would be great but again…why take this job right now? With the new apron rules and our lack of assets, it’s gonna be a struggle to build as long as Lebron & AD are getting paid. I feel like front offices will have to retool their strategies in this new environment. Presti has OKC in perfect position with all those picks and if I were a brand new head coach that’s the type of situation I’d be looking for. Hurley will be great because he has shown he has a knack for picking talent that fits what he’s doing and can deal with his coaching style….that’s a quality that’s more important than Xs & Os to me. He needs a team where he can start from scratch and guaranteed time to build it up & establish a culture. Lakers ain’t that.