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Nate McMillan on joining Lakers coaching staff: I was semi-retired and basically back here in North Carolina enjoying life and uh really working on my foundation and working with uh the young boys uh that we have in our program. We've been in existence for the past three years. Very good program. So, I was really committed and still am committed to this mentorship program, but I was talking on the phone to my son and my son and JJ Redick worked together in New Orleans. He was an assistant coach there. So, he worked with JJ in New Orleans and we're on the phone and he looks at his text and he said, "Dad, you know, JJ just text me and asked me if you would be interested in coaching." So, I said, "Well, give him my number and we'll talk." And I knew that he had just accepted a job for the Lakers. So, when the Lakers come calling, you're going to listen, and so I said, "Give him my number." He called me right away and we got into conversation and he talked about his plans for coaching with the Lakers and he talked about the staff that he wanted to put together and he felt that he needed to put together. He felt like he needed some experience, some gray beards on the bench. And he talked about Scotty Brooks uh coming on board but he wanted to reach out to me first.
JJ Redick: 'The biggest thing for Bronny is that he has to get in elite shape'
"The biggest thing for Bronny is that he has to get in elite shape," Redick told ESPN. "That's the barrier of entry for him right now. And if he does that, I think he's got a chance to be a really fantastic player in the NBA."
Marcus Smart has already been in contact with head coach JJ Redick and revealed what his expectations for him were, via ESPN LA: “JJ just wants me to be me. The person that I was in Boston, the person that he played against and had me chasing around when he was on the court playing. So that’s all he asked me and I think I could do that to the best of my ability with the best of them because like I said I have a chip on my shoulder and I’m ready to go.”
Lakers waive Jordan Goodwin
Shams Charania: The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Jordan Goodwin, sources tell ESPN. Goodwin emerged as a key rotation piece for JJ Redick late last season, playing 29 games and four playoff contests. Goodwin and Shake Milton were released to clear space for arrival of Marcus Smart.
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On May 3, four days after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Craig's reserved a booth for four VIPs: the Lakers' new superstar point guard, Luka Doncic; his longtime manager, Lara Beth Seager; Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka; and coach JJ Redick. LeBron James, the centerpiece of every Lakers decision and strategy for the previous seven-plus years, was not in attendance. Redick, Pelinka and Seager entered through the front entrance, Doncic through the back. But all four exited through the front door, where a crowd of paparazzi and fans spotted them and took videos that were immediately uploaded to TMZ and social media. Doncic even stopped to sign a few autographs before leaving. The purpose of the meeting was as clear as their choice of door: Doncic is the face of the franchise now and the Lakers wanted him -- and everyone else -- to know it. Over a bottle of Opus One, Pelinka and Redick explained not only their strategy in building the team around Doncic's skill set, sources told ESPN, but also the complexities of the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement and how they planned to navigate it.
The Lakers will gladly accept either, though they may have to be patient; Doncic is playing for the Slovenian national team this summer in the high-intensity EuroBasket, which runs through mid-September, and his NBA contract business might wait until then. But that is not the kind of topic you talk about over dinner at Craig's in May, however. No, at that dinner plans are made to visit Doncic in Europe later this summer. Players he would like to team up with are discussed; the team's style of play and organizational culture are examined. Behind the tinted windows, the leaders of the Lakers' organization sent a message to the star they hope will lead them: That this is what life in L.A. can be like if he elects to stay and be the next face of the franchise.
Dave McMenamin: Rob Pelinka on the Lakers’ Jake LaRavia signing, from the team’s release: “Jake is a high IQ two-way player with ideal skills for a JJ Redick basketball system. He’s a disruptive defender who uses his size and physicality to create turnovers. Offensively, he can score at all three levels and has a knack for creating space for himself and his teammates.”
Lakers team sources believe they have the coaching staff required to make Deandre Ayton signing work
For Ayton, who turns 27 at the end of July, the opportunity to re-establish himself couldn’t be more clear. While his contract with the Lakers has a second-year player option, no one involved wants him to exercise it — the hope being that he far outplays that $8 million valuation and commands way more next summer. Team sources believe the Lakers have the right coaching staff to make that happen. In JJ Redick, they have a deadly serious head coach who also understands how to relate to players. Assistant Scott Brooks worked with Ayton in Portland two years ago, and Nate McMillan has either played or coached with or against virtually every personality type the NBA’s ever concocted. And if not, the Lakers have maintained their flexibility for next summer and beyond.
Bronny said his primary goal this summer is to be in “elite” physical condition — the charge given to him by Lakers coach JJ Redick. And with each passing day since a cardiac arrest in 2023, he has been more comfortable testing himself physically. “I think that side of confidence just comes with time. Being able to go through or endure myself at a longer rate of time, just being able to be out there for a longer time, going at it. So just coming in every day and pushing myself even more than I did the last day, I think is just really good for me,” he said. “And if I can see myself get through that, then just day on day, I’m just building. Yeah, that confidence just comes with time and not having any setbacks when it comes to that.”
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According to league sources, LaRavia was the Lakers’ first call when free agency officially opened at 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday. In his conversation with Rob Pelinka and Lakers coach JJ Redick, LaRavia and his team were impressed with the ways Pelinka sold the strengths of the Lakers’ brand and Redick’s detailed vision for how he’d like to use the young wing. The Lakers were able to get a relatively quick commitment to a two-year guaranteed contract worth $12 million. “Hope Lakers fans are as excited as I am,” LaRavia posted on Instagram. “Let’s work.”
Law Murray: Kobe Sanders will start out wearing #4 with LA Clippers. Last worn by Mo Bamba and Brandon Boston Jr. Most notably worn by JJ Redick and Ron Harper
They were the only NBA team without a representative at the Sloan Analytics Conference in 2013 because they didn't have much of an analytics department to speak of. While the team has committed more resources recently at the behest of coach JJ Redick, it was an area the Lakers had long lagged behind compared to the rest of the league. Walter's reputation as an owner is the opposite. And as soon as he purchased a minority stake of the Lakers in 2021, this sale was a possibility, if not an inevitably. "Somebody of the magnitude of Mark Walter comes in," a league source said, "it was probably a foregone conclusion at some point in time."
While there are still some who wonder if Kidd might try to push his way out, or perhaps inspire Mavericks ownership to give him an extension in lieu of such a move, the Mavericks have been adamant internally that Kidd isn’t going anywhere. For the sake of additional context, I spent part of Wednesday evening trying to figure out which other current head coaches the Knicks might have attempted to contact. And while there were no new names revealed, it’s worth sharing that league sources say the Knicks did not request permission to speak to this elite coaching crew: The Pacers’ Rick Carlisle, the Warriors’ Steve Kerr, the Bucks’ Doc Rivers, the Clippers’ Ty Lue and the Lakers’ JJ Redick.
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