After the Los Angeles Lakers were ousted in the NBA playoffs for a second consecutive season at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, the storied franchise decided to fire Darvin Ham in favor of former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick. When the hire was made, media members and fans alike took to social media to give their opinions on the Lakers’ decision to bring in a guy with no prior coaching history as their head coach. Despite a slew of mixed reviews the Lakers’ players have nothing but glowing praise surrounding Redick’s arrival.
A season ago it was clear that there was a disconnect between Ham and certain players on the roster. When the news broke that Ham would be relived of his duty, not a single player took to social media to comment on his departure, which says a lot about how they viewed him as a coach. Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell used media day as an opportunity to praise what it has been like with Redick as the new leader of the team.
“For me to see how JJ is trying to bring the play calls and just level of IQ into each practice and each film session, to see how he’s prioritizing that,” said D’Angelo Russell. “I’ve always been a guy that wants to prioritize high IQ, high verbiage, high film sessions … like, ‘Let’s rise to that.’ And he’s obviously doing that. It’s something to look forward to.” Russell said to Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet.
Lakers’ forward Rui Hachimura also spoke with reporters at media day and talked in length about how Redick’s time as a recently retired NBA player serves as an advantage due to his awarness of the modern game.
“It’s been great,” echoed Rui Hachimura. “I think the good thing about it is he was just in the league so he knows exactly what is happening in this league right now. So he can teach and coach us from the player standpoint. It’s easier for us to understand. It just makes sense. Whatever he says just makes sense; it’s good.”
On an episode of ESPN’s popular show “First Take,” Senior NBA insider Shams Charania talked with Stephen A. Smith about the initial reviews in the Lakers’ locker room surrounding their new coach.
No Lakers player made a jab at Ham during media day, however, it is obvious that he had lost the locker room as season ago. The energy in the Los Angeles building does feel like they have completely purged themselves of the Darvin Ham era.
