The Los Angeles Lakers officially introduced JJ Redick as their new head coach on Monday. But just before Los Angeles-based Spectrum SportsNet went on the air for the press conference, commentator and franchise legend James Worthy was heard making some potentially critical comments about the Lakers organization.
Worthy was perceived to be talking about how the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship this year by being patient with their personnel, and he contrasted that with the high amount of personnel turnover L.A. has gone through in the last several years.
“They (presumably the Celtics) did it right,” said Worthy. “They took their time. They waited, while we were trading [Brandon] Ingram, [Julius] Randle…[Kentavious Caldwell-]Pope gone, brotha up in Sacramento, Malik [Monk] gone…and then we weren’t getting anything for it, [Russell] Westbrook gone. The ink will lead back to the problem.”
It’s certainly clear as day, that Worthy was designating “the problem” as either Lakers superstar LeBron James or general manager Rob Pelinka.
Worthy then mentioned Bronny James and how people are seemingly waiting for and expecting the team to draft him while creating massive hype for him.
“Well he’s the greatest young player ever right now, Bronny, that’s what I’m gonna say,” Worthy seemed to quip about the younger James.
Redick comes to the Lakers with no coaching experience other than a brief stint with his son’s youth league team, but he is considered by many to be very intelligent and resourceful when it comes to the technical breakdown of basketball. He spent this season as a commentator for NBA games with ESPN, and, of course, he co-hosts the “Mind the Game” podcast with the elder James.
Just before the elder James came to the Lakers in 2018, they had a promising young roster that featured young prospects such as Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and Julius Randle. But their developmental timeline was radically changed when the elder James arrived, as it quickly became “championship or bust” for the team.
Ingram, Hart and Ball were shipped off in 2019 for Anthony Davis, while Randle left the year before as a free agent. Ingram and Randle went on to become All-Stars, while Hart is now a pivotal role player for a quickly ascending New York Knicks team.
On the other hand, the Celtics resisted calls for them to trade Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, their two main stars. Instead, they took their playoff losses to heart and made major changes to their supporting cast last summer by trading for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.
Many expect the Lakers to draft the younger James later this week. While his stats at the University of Southern California as a freshman were not great, he possesses solid athleticism and a willingness to go at it on the defensive end. Some also feel he has plenty of potential as a reliable 3-point shooting threat.
