As the Los Angeles Lakers prepare for the start of a new season, NBA legend Magic Johnson passed along an important message to the fans. In an interview with a local Los Angeles news station, Magic preached patience for the fans toward the team’s newest head coach, JJ Redick.
“We as Lakers fans have to give JJ Redick, our new coach, some time to understand how to utilize the talent, how to coach the talent, and then also what schemes will work and what schemes won’t work. Because this is not going to be easy for him but I think having LeBron as your captain, one of the greatest to lace ’em up, and Anthony Davis — they showed Lakers fans around the world what they are capable of doing in the Olympics.”
Besides being a 5x champion with the Lakers, and serving as the face of the franchise through the 1980s, he took on a role as the team’s President of Basketball Operations in the late 2010s. He helped lure LeBron James from the Cavaliers and oversaw key roster changes which helped the team recover from a miserable stretch.
Today, Magic’s role is as an unofficial advisor to the team but he is still a popular and well-respected voice in the Lakers community. Whether on social media or in interviews such as the one above, Johnson always has something to say and he will support his team until the very end.
On the subject of the Lakers’ newest coach, Magic has seen firsthand how much pressure comes with the job. Darvin Ham was fired after just two seasons on the job and the man before him (Frank Vogel) was fired despite leading the Lakers to a championship in 2020. In both cases, the fans had turned on the coach long before their departure and pinned the failure largely on their shoulders.
For JJ, who was hired just a few months ago, the pressure is going to be immense. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both heading toward the end of their careers and there is desperation to compete for a championship before they move on and hang up their jerseys for good.
After a failed attempt to lure Dan Hurley from UConn, the Lakers settled on JJ and team owner Jeanie Buss has personally granted her trust in the former NBA sharpshooter. As a friend of LeBron James and a genius tactician, Redick has the tools and resources to excel in this job but the only measure of his success will be how far they get in the playoffs.
After last year’s underwhelming first-round elimination, the Lakers are determined to make a run and take a step up in the West standings. Redick will not be on the court playing but his experience, personality, and extensive knowledge of the sport should make his impact felt in more ways than one.
The key for Lakers fans is to give Redick enough time and patience to maximize his potential and carry out his vision for the team. The Lakers chose him for a reason and if they allow him the freedom to run the team how he sees fit it could pay off in a major way for the organization. Either way, things will take time to come together and Magic Johnson says we shouldn’t expect a smooth operation from the start.
