Lakers Head Coach Drama & Odds: Is JJ Redick the Favorite to Lead Los Angeles?
Written by: Devon Platana
Last Update: Mon May 20, 2024, 12:08 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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Before getting to the Los Angeles Lakers next coach odds and everything surrounding JJ Redick, be sure to check out BetOnline. BetOnline is a market leader in sports betting, offering various options from NBA player award odds to early offseason markets and everything in between.
The Los Angeles Lakers officially began their offseason when general manager Rob Pelinka fired former head coach Darvin Ham. Despite amassing a 90-74 record in the last two regular seasons, Ham couldn't get the job done in the playoffs, losing to the Denver Nuggets in back-to-back postseasons — including this year's five-game elimination.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers dismissed coach Darvin Ham, sources tell ESPN. In two seasons, Ham was 90-74 with a Western Conference Finals berth, two Play-In victories and an In-Season title. Lakers lost in five games to Denver in opening-round. pic.twitter.com/33ck0Hgyu4
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 3, 2024
Since Ham's firing, several names have popped up for the vacant coaching position in Los Angeles, including former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick. We've seen former players successfully transition into coaching roles before, but is there a legitimate chance that Redick will be the next to do it?
Let's take a look at the latest Lakers head coach odds, as well as whether or not Redick is legitimately the favorite to lead Los Angeles next season and beyond.
Lakers Next NBA Head Coach Odds 2024
All Lakers next head coach odds are courtesy of BetOnline as of May 11, 2024.
- Kenny Atkinson +100
- JJ Redick +150
- Tyronn Lue +600
- David Adelman +900
- Chris Quinn +1400
- Phil Handy +2200
- Sam Cassell +2200
- Terry Stotts +2500
- Mike D'Antoni +3300
- Mark Jackson +3300
- Dave Joerger +3300
- Jerry Stackhouse +3300
- Adrian Griffin +3300
- Juwan Howard +3300
- Royal Ivey +4000
- Becky Hammon +5000
- Jay Wright +6600
- Steve Nash +8000
- Rick Pitino +8000
- Mike Krzyzewski +10000
- LeBron James +50000
- Magic Johnson +50000
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Who is JJ Redick?
Unless you've been living under a rock or just started following basketball recently, most NBA fans of the last few decades are well aware of who JJ Redick is.
After a solid run with the Duke Blue Devils, Redick was drafted 11th overall by the Orlando Magic at the 2006 NBA Draft. Although his three-point prowess was made evident in his early career, the Cookeville, TN native didn't truly hit his stride until he joined the LA Clippers ahead of the 2013-14 campaign. He went on to cement himself as one of the best perimeter shooters in the league and even led the Association with a 47.5 3P% in 2015-16.
By the time his playing career ended, Redick had appeared in 940 regular-season games (488 starts), averaging 12.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists with .447/.415/.892 shooting splits. While he never won a championship ring, he still averaged 10.9 points and 1.7 threes with a 37.1% success rate in 110 postseason contests.
After retiring, Redick joined ESPN as an analyst and frequently appears on the "First Take" talk show. He also began the widely popular "Mind the Game" podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James this year, leaving many to wonder if that's playing a big role in the 39-year-old being linked to the Los Angeles head coaching gig.
Lakers Head Coach Odds: Is Redick the Favorite?
Despite dominating the headlines when it comes to the Lakers head coach search, Redick isn't the favorite to land the job. Instead, BetOnline is favoring Kenny Atkinson at +100 odds to lead Los Angeles' bench in the 2024-25 campaign.
Atkinson coached the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020, amassing a 118-170 record with one postseason appearance. The 56-year-old has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors and even won a championship ring with them during the 2022 postseason run.
Having said that, Redick still holds the second-best odds at +150, so it isn't as if he's completely out of the conversation. At the same time, it's tough to justify the Lakers potentially hiring them as their next head coach.
Former Brooklyn Nets bench boss Kenny Atkinson is the +100 betting favorite to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.
The fact is that Redick doesn't have any head coaching experience. Yes, he has a great mind for basketball and makes for a tremendous NBA analyst on TV, but that doesn't mean he has what it takes to lead a team to an NBA Championship.
You only need to look back at Steve Nash's run with the Nets to see how this could backfire in the Lakers' face. Nash is one of the best point guards that this sport has ever seen, however, that success didn't lead to results. While Brooklyn went 94-67 under his regular-season guidance, a 7-9 playoff record with a 2-5 start to the 2022-23 campaign led to his dismissal after just 161 games.
I'm not saying that Redick would wind up exactly like Nash, but the truth is that it isn't simple for players to step into head coaching jobs. If he had some professional/college experience it'd be one thing, but elementary school basketball is the highest level that Redick has coached.
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The Lakers are supposed to be a franchise that knows what winning is like, which is why it's mind-boggling that Redick's odds are as short as they are. You'd think that Pelinka would be looking for a more proven option after the likes of Ham, Frank Vogel, and Luke Walton failed to produce results for the most part.
While it'd be fun to see what Redick could do with good friend LeBron, the Lakers hiring the player-turned-analyst as the new head coach has the potential to be disastrous.
I'm not sure if Atkinson is the answer to the Lakers' issues, but let's wait until Redick has a bit more experience before being thrust under the spotlight.
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Devon is a Master of Journalism graduate who joined the sports betting world in 2020. His favorite leagues to cover are the NHL, NBA and NFL, and has a soft spot for fantasy football specifically. Outside of sports, he enjoys the finer things in life like pasta, live music and getting even more tattoos.
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