Lakers have given coach JJ Redick a contract

The Lakers kicked off their summer season break by signing their star participant to a contract extension in a flashy news convention that includes Balkan walk-up music and a picture gallery show of Luka Doncic’s best Lakers moments. The group returned Thursday by asserting their continued dedication to their coach.

Lakers normal supervisor Rob Pelinka announced head coach JJ Redick had signed a contract extension at a news convention with the coach as the Lakers start training camp next Tuesday.

Redick signed a four-year, $32-million contract last yr as a first-time head coach and led the Lakers to a 50-32 regular-season file and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference before dropping to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first spherical of playoffs. The phrases of the new deal weren’t announced.

“We think he’s a special coach with a special voice that’s really helping us define the culture of Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said. “We just wanted to make a clear statement that this is what we believe in, what we’re going to lean into and what our players are going to mold into as we continue to develop the identity. I think having long-term planning is helpful as we build this team and go forward.”

Redick’s extension was one of the ending touches on what Pelinka called “an intentional and productive offseason.” The Lakers touted major additions of heart Deandre Ayton and perimeter gamers Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia who have been each hand-selected for their suits around Doncic and LeBron James.

James opted into the ultimate yr of his contract, and Doncic signed a three-year extension on the first day the Lakers may offer in August.

After a blockbuster midseason commerce introduced the previous Dallas Maverick to L.A. in February, Doncic and James will enter their first full season together with questions about how the Lakers can best steadiness the 40-year-old James and his 26-year-old fellow star.

Redick, who said he had two productive in-person conferences with James this offseason, will oversee the league’s most-watched switch of energy.

Redick acknowledged that becoming a member of the Lakers brings constant stress. Then he was also transitioning from broadcasting to teaching while shifting cities, settling his youngsters into new colleges and adjusting to a seismic midseason commerce. Redick’s first yr got here with little time to mirror or course of.

After the Lakers have been eradicated from the first spherical of the playoffs, Redick paused to think about his new profession. He ruminated for weeks on how to outline his philosophy as a coach and his methodology. He searched for solutions in conferences with Rams coach Sean McVay, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Brady’s former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Through their conversations, he got here away with a simple strategy to obtain success.

“We’re going to ask guys to be in championship shape, have championship communication and championship habits,” Redick said. “That’s a daily commitment to that.”

James, who will start an unprecedented twenty third NBA season next week, has always been dedicated to those pillars, Redick said. Doncic has adopted swimsuit.

The Slovenian famous person’s rebuilt and slimmed down physique was the discuss of the NBA summer season after major magazine profiles in Men’s Health and the Wall Street Journal. The offseason work paid off in EuroBasket, where Doncic averaged 34.7 factors, 8.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists in Slovenia’s run to the quarterfinals. He was named to the match’s five-man All-Star group.

But after touring to Poland to not only watch Doncic play but to observe Slovenian group practices, Pelinka got here away just as impressed by Doncic’s off-court habits as his on-court recreation.

“How he not only led by example, but he was very demonstrative in the practice in terms of his expectations of the team, how they played, their togetherness,” Pelinka said. “Just seeing that continued evolution and growth with him as not only a leader by example but a leader with his voice really stood out to me.”

Redick famous Doncic’s improved motion and protection during the European competitors, and the coach expects to see the same model of the star guard stateside.

“I expect the best version of Luka,” Redick said, “and it’s my job as a coach to bring that out on a daily basis.”