LOS ANGELES — Lakers coach JJ Redick, who is usually thoughtful and thorough in his responses to questions from reporters, only needed a one-word response when asked whether he finds coaching more rewarding than being an NBA player – his job for 15 seasons.
“Yes,” Redick quickly responded to the question, with barely any time passing between the query and his response.
When asked why, Redick appeared to not fully know.
“I tried to figure that out for the last six months, I’m not sure,” he said. “But I will say, I think anybody that was around me as a player knows how much I enjoyed the job every day and knows how grateful I was to be in the NBA every day and very grateful to have a 15-year career. I like this more.”
With Friday night’s matchup against the Houston Rockets being the last regular-season home game of the season and the Lakers already assured of a first-round playoff berth after Wednesday’s road win against the Dallas Mavericks, Redick’s pregame media session was reflective and introspective.
“There’s a different challenge every day, to be honest with you,” Redick responded when asked about unforeseen challenges and positive surprises as a rookie coach. “And other than that, my house burned down and the Palisades fire, nothing has surprised me. Because I went into this with a very open mind and a baseline level of knowledge. And though I didn’t have experience as a coach, I had 15 years of experience in the NBA. And have been a part of a bunch of different locker rooms in a bunch of different situations, either as a firsthand witness or a third party with a team. So I’ve kinda seen a lot.
“But truthfully, there’s a different challenge every day. Like the challenge [on Friday] is making sure our guys play with the same defensive mindset that we played with over the last 10-12 days against the team that is now resting a lot of their starters. That’s a challenge.”
REBUILDING COMMUNITY
On Thursday, Redick was part of the unveiling of a partnership between Rick Caruso and Mayor Karen Bass to rebuild the Palisades Recreation Center – a part of the community that Redick spoke highly about in the aftermath of the Southern California wildfires in January.
Redick launched the L.A. Sports Strong Foundation over a week ago, with the goal of supporting development of sports programs and facilities across the city.
Caruso’s organization, Steadfast L.A., the L.A. Sports Strong Foundation and Mayor Bass came together for a public-private partnership, which will fund the reconstruction of the recreation center.
“Part of the last three months has been talking to the mayor, talking to the mayor’s office, talking to Rick and all the things he’s doing with Steadfast – but also talking to key community stakeholders throughout the Palisades,” Redick said. “And I think there’s three different rites of entries in Palisades Park.
“And so there’s all these groups that helped make the park what it was and what it’s going to be. And, I think it has to be, and it will be something that everyone in the community can be proud of. And we’ll continue to just be the hub of the community. And for families like us with young kids, they’re gonna be there every day. And it’s gotta be a place that the community is proud of.”
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