Joel Embiid Questions Former Teammate JJ Redick’s Lakers Decision

Former Philadelphia 76er JJ Redick shocked the NBA world when he was announced as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this summer. Only three years after retiring from professional basketball, Redick was hired as the Lakers head coach without any prior coaching experience.

The Lakers' decision was highly scrutinizied by many. But not enough attention was given to the fact that it may not be the savviest decision by Redick, either.

Redick's former teammate Joel Embiid addressed this situation in his interview with the New York Times. Questioning Redick's decision to take the Lakers job, Embiid highlighted the thankless nature of that position. Saying that he loves Redick and is happy for him, the former MVP thinks it is not the perfect situation for a coach.

"If I was him, I don’t know if that’s a perfect situation. Maybe he thinks that’s a perfect situation… It’s kind of a make-or-break situation, because if you succeed, great, you’re going to be coaching for years. But if you don’t succeed, those coaches are usually bound to be fired within a year or two. I love him, I’m happy for him, but that’s a tough job."

- Joel Embiid on JJ Redick

Redick and Embiid were teammates for two seasons in Philadelphia when the sharpshooter had the best two-year stretch of his career. The duo had beautiful chemistry in hand-off actions and two-man game, resulting in Redick averaging career-highs in points per game in back-to-back seasons. In 146 games for the Sixers, Redick averaged 17.6 points on 44.9/40.7/89.9 shooting splits, making 3 threes per game.

His new job will be much more difficult than coming off Embiid's screens and taking three-pointers. The expectations are always sky high in Los Angeles even though the Lakers roster is not good enough to contend. Embiid is right in pointing out the possibility that Redick will be scapegoated after the Lakers inevitably fail to contend for a title due to their mediocre roster.

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