Jeanie Buss admits she was 'worried' about hiring JJ Redick

After the Los Angeles Lakers fired Darvin Ham following two seasons as their head coach, they quickly started courting JJ Redick to become their next head coach. Redick had a long and productive NBA career as a 3-point specialist, but he had no coaching experience of any kind at either the pro or college levels.

He had become a podcaster since his playing career ended, and he co-hosted the “Mind the Game” podcast with LeBron James, which led to further skepticism that he would be able to do his job well.

But Redick did a solid job by keeping the Lakers in one piece through multiple slumps and changes, and he guided them to a 50-32 record and the third seed in the Western Conference. Although they fell in five games in the first round of the playoffs to the Minnesota Timberwolves, their immediate future appears to be reasonably bright.

Team governor Jeanie Buss admitted several weeks ago that she was “worried” about hiring Redick at first.

Via ESPN:

“I was worried about hiring a rookie coach,” Buss said. “This team is so important to this community, and to bring in a rookie coach that had no experience before, that was a big leap. But I knew that [Redick and Pelinka] would work well together, and I love watching the progress that they’re making.”

While Redick made a mistake in Game 4 against Minnesota that may have helped cost Los Angeles the series by playing just five men in the second half, it seems as if fans and experts generally trust him at this point.

His greatest test may come next season, when the honeymoon will be over and L.A. may have the depth and size to be a legitimate championship contender.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jeanie Buss admits she was ‘worried’ about hiring JJ Redick