Getty Lakers head coach JJ Redick
Rookie head coach JJ Redick set a new tone for the season for the Los Angeles Lakers as he veered away from their customary summer workouts under Darvin Ham.
According to Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike, the Lakers summer workouts “have featured more live basketball — one-on-one and three-on-three — than past summers when the focus was more on individual, non-competitive work.”
It was a preview of how Redick is changing the culture of the team that fell short against the Denver Nuggets over the past two seasons.
The Lakers touted a modernized player development program during Redick’s introductory presser to combat the new, restrictive Collective Bargaining Agreement in supplementing their star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Redick even referred to LeBron’s son, Bronny James, as their “test case No. 1” in what they envision to be a modernized and innovative player development program.
“I think just in general, the player development program we’re trying to build is holistic,” Redick said during his introductory presser. “Often times when people talk about player development, they talk about ball handling and shooting and passing. Certainly, the mechanics of playing basketball are an important part of player development but it’s also tactical, it’s about reads, it’s about incorporating film and analytics.”
LeBron James, Davis and Rui Hachimura, who all recently competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, were excused from the summer workouts to get their rest before training camp.
Darvin Ham Apologized for Limited Lakers Practices
Former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley made a stunning revelation about Ham admitting to his shortcomings recently while he was in Las Vegas.
“I see coach Ham walk past. Mind you, I have not seen Coach Ham on a personal level since I left the Lakers. Coach Ham came up to me, [and I said] What’s up? I don’t know his move, I’m just like, what’s up? He was like ‘Could I get five minutes?’ Oh [expletive] okay, what’s up Ham? ‘Just want to let you know Pat, I apologize. Oh [expletive]. You know, as a coach, you are never supposed to apologize. The decision you make is the decision you make. Why? Because you the [expletive] coach.”
“Pat, you were right, need to practice more,” Ham was quoted telling Beverley. “[Expletive] that, need to do more. Can’t just win off talent.”
It takes a lot for a coach to admit when he was wrong. Respect 🫡
In today’s era of load management, veteran-laden teams such as the Lakers rarely hold practices, especially on the road, opting to rest their players.
Ham has rejoined the Milwaukee Bucks as their top assistant coach after the Lakers fired him.
Lakers Hire Ex-Bulls Player Development Coach
The Lakers hired Ty Abbott as their lead player development coach, according to an Instagram post by CSE Talent.
Abbott has overlapped with Redick during his final season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019.
After working with the 76ers for more than a year as a player development associate, Abbott joined the Bulls in August 2020 as a player development coordinator. The Bulls promoted him to player development coach last year.
During his introductory presser, Redick said they plan “to hire a director of player development that sees my vision.”
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