Van Gundy coached JJ Redick for five years early in his career with the Orlando Magic and again toward the end with the New Orleans Pelicans. He also knows the Lakers well, having called several of their games for TNT last season, and he is set to work their season opener on Tuesday.
Van Gundy respects Redick and believes he could become a great coach, but he thinks Redick might face some challenges this season. He isn’t very optimistic about the Lakers and attributes that to their roster.
“I don’t look at that as one of the better rosters in the Western Conference by any means,” Van Gundy said in a phone interview with Sporting News. “This is a 40-year-old LeBron James, and the expectations get a little bit crazy.”
Redick is noted for having a good relationship with LeBron, and players have spoken more positively about him compared to his predecessor, Darvin Ham. However, Van Gundy doubts how much that really matters in the end.
“If I read comments like this player loves this coach, it’s meaningless to me. If I want to know if the relationship is working, I just have to watch the games and see how the guys play, how the team plays, and how individuals perform because the coach’s job is to get players to excel.
“Pat Riley had the best line on player relationships I’ve ever heard. He said that the player-coach relationship is a business relationship designed to get a result.”
Van Gundy praised Redick, mentioning how he has seen firsthand how smart Redick is.
“JJ’s greatest strength is that he’s incredibly focused on improving, learning more about the game, and figuring things out. His intelligence, attention to detail, and discipline allowed him to have the career he had. He’s a better athlete than people think, but he certainly didn’t rely solely on athleticism to succeed in the NBA. He had to understand the game well.”
While Van Gundy finds Redick’s basketball intelligence impressive, he believes it doesn’t determine a coach’s success.
“You don’t judge coaches by what they know. It’s all about what their players do on the court. That’s the only thing that matters. The smartest person may not be the best coach. Intelligence alone doesn’t set people apart.”
Redick has shown good performance during the preseason. The Lakers need to increase their three-point shooting, and Ham attempted to get Anthony Davis to average six three-point attempts per game last year, but Davis only averaged 1.4.
Redick is also working to improve Anthony Davis’ game. He has encouraged the big man to take three-point shots, averaging 4.3 attempts per game during the four preseason games.
This shift doesn’t surprise Van Gundy. He witnessed Redick thrive in enhancing his own skills and believes those abilities will help him as a coach.
“If JJ wanted to improve, he wasn’t someone who would just shoot a lot. He focused on specific areas he wanted to develop and was disciplined about practicing those areas every time. I’m sure he will be the same as a coach.”
Van Gundy thinks that Redick’s attention to detail and discipline will contribute to his success in Los Angeles. However, the team needs to change its coaching strategy and adopt a long-term perspective instead of seeking quick results.
“What JJ is facing more than anything is the expectations that come with coaching the Lakers. Darvin Ham had two years and reached the Western Conference Finals in one of those years, and then he was let go.
“If the Lakers organization is committed for the long run, then I have no doubt that JJ will be a very successful coach. He has the intelligence, commitment, determination, and work ethic. But that doesn’t mean they will win 60 games this year. It ultimately comes down to the players.”
