Two Fringe Lakers Already Trying to Earn JJ Redick's Favor

The Los Angeles Lakers officially announced Monday that JJ Redick is the franchise’s new head coach. The 39-year-old Redick is taking over for Darvin Ham, who was let go last month after two seasons.

The first-time head coach has a tough challenge ahead of him as the Lakers are coming off a first-round exit against the Denver Nuggets and are playing in a tough Western Conference that is getting better and younger.

For the Lakers to take that next step under Redick, they need more from their role players like Christian Wood and Gabe Vincent next season. Wood and Vincent didn’t have great first years with the Lakers after they appeared to be steals in free agency last summer.

Wood averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game, while Vincent was hampered by injury, producing 3.1 points and 1.9 assists (11 games). The two players were reportedly in attendance at Redick’s intro presser, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Redick will be looking for Wood and Vincent to play significant roles off the bench, especially if the Lakers don’t make huge additions in the frontcourt or at the guard spot this offseason. Wood isn’t too far removed from producing 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game with the Houston Rockets in the 2022-23 season.

Maybe there’s a chance that Redick can unlock that potential in Wood because it will help the Lakers in the long term. Los Angeles had one of the worst benches in the NBA this season, as they only scored 28.4 points per game (28th in the Association). Only the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns had lower-scoring benches in the league.

Lastly, as long as Vincent is healthy, Lakers fans shouldn’t be worried about his production. In his last two seasons with the Heat, the 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 9.1 points and 2.8 assists per game. If Redick and his coaching staff can get Vincent back to that point, the Lakers’ bench could be one of the best in the NBA next season.

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