JJ Redick is finding his footing with the Los Angeles Lakers after starting his coaching career with consecutive 50-win seasons, according to a June 2 report. This year, the Lakers secured home-court advantage as a fourth seed despite injuries to Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and other players.
Despite missing Reaves for four out of six games against the Houston Rockets and Doncic missing the entire postseason, Redick led his team to a first-round upset. However, he said that roster depth outside of their stars became an issue against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Speaking at his end-of-season press conference, Redick said, “I’ll repeat what I said [Monday] night, I’m just grateful for all the guys on this team and the work they put in and commitment to trying to win this year. I don’t necessarily need depth as a rotation thing. Whether you play eight or nine, or whether you play 11 or 12, you need to have depth.
“That depth typically comes in roster spots 10 through 15. And whether that’s internal development, Draft, trade, free agency, whatever it is, we need to build depth beyond just an eight- or nine-man rotation because you’re naturally going to have injuries. You sit there and you plan all summer of how your team is supposed to play and look; maybe five games out of the 92 games we played it was something I had planned over the offseason.
“A lot of times you’re in a timeout and you’re looking like ‘I never expected this lineup to be together.’ So it really is about just building that depth. As coaches we can figure out what a rotation looks like but you look at OKC’s roster; you look at San Antonio’s roster; they have 13 high-level rotation players minimum. That’s a luxury to have in the NBA and it’s one of the reasons those teams are really good.”
In Redick’s short tenure with Los Angeles, he has encountered challenges with having a short rotation during regular seasons, which may contribute to players tiring during playoffs.
Redick finished seventh in voting for NBA Coach of the Year for the 2025-26 season.