Getty Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
Los Angeles Lakers rookie head coach JJ Redick will have a familiar face on his staff.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, G League Coach of the Year Lindsey Harding agreed to join the Lakers as Redick’s coaching staff that continues to take shape.
Harding, 39, joins former NBA head coaches Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks and holdover Greg St. Jean, who started as a player development coach under Frank Vogel during the Lakers’ championship run in 2020.
Harding and Redick are reunited in Los Angeles after spending time together in Philadelphia and at Duke.
As Duke stars, Redick (2006) and Harding (2007) won the Naismith College Player of the Year in their decorated college careers. Harding was a player development coach when Redick played for the 76ers from 2017 to 2019.
Harding was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft and played for five different teams, including the Los Angeles Sparks, in a nine-year career.
Last season, she guided the Kings to the Western Conference Finals in her first head coaching job in the G League after working as a player development coach for the Sixers and the Kings.
Harding and Redick both interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job that went to Charles Lee, per Wojnarowski.
JJ Redick Believes Bronny James Can Develop Into Lu Dort Mold
Despite Bronny James‘ offensive woes in the NBA Summer League, Redick was encouraged by his defensive instincts which he believes could become his calling card.
Redick compared Bronny to Oklahoma City Thunder‘s defensive stopper Lu Dort in a recent interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio.
“We were at the Canada-USA basketball exhibition game. And I turned to one of our assistant coaches during the game. And I said, ‘I think Lu Dort just single-handedly broke up the eighth possession of the game.’ Like, his impact. You can’t get into your offense. Sometimes, the shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure. He literally blows up entire plays because of that pressure. And I really believe this. Bronny will eventually be that guy,” Redick said.
Despite being two inches shorter than Dort, Bronny showed glimpses of his defensive potential in the NBA Summer League.
The best ‘highlight’ for the Lakers thus far is Bronny James breaking up this lob attempt in transition.
Redick is not overly concerned about Bronny’s offensive struggles, which is a stark contrast to his father, LeBron James, who took the NBA by storm as an 18-year-old prodigy more than two decades ago.
“You have to be a guy that’s a ball hawk at all times,” Redick said. “We’re going to develop his shot. We’re going to develop his ball skills. He’s already got a great feel. He has a really good, instinctive nature on the defensive end.”
“[Lou Dort’s] impact – you can’t get into your offense sometimes. The shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure…Bronny eventually will be that guy”
JJ Redick wants to see Bronny James focus on defense as he talks with @TermineRadio, Ryan McDonough, and @Jumpshot8.
Bronny has been abysmal on offense, hitting only 6 of 26 from the field and missing all of his dozen attempts from the 3-point distance.
JJ Redick Wants Lakers to Add ‘Big, Bruising Man’
After missing out on Jonas Valanciunas, one of their free agent targets whom LeBron was willing to take a substantial paycut for, Redick still hopes the Lakers could get a center of a similar ilk via trade.
“You certainly have to look at what I think is actually a very good roster, a very balanced roster, Redick said in an interview with Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “We’d love to, we tried, but we’d love to, at some point, get another five man, a big bruising five man.
“You look at the Western Conference right now, whether it’s Denver, Minnesota, OKC with what they added, certainly Memphis, they’re going to be back in the hunt, they added Zach Edey, certain matchups in the playoffs, you’re going to need a lot of size.”
Redick wants to add size to counter Nuggets‘ three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Timberwolves‘ Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Thunder’s Chet Holmgren and free agent acquisition Isaiah Hartenstein.
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