February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Magic Johnson before the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Magic Johnson seems to approve of the Los Angeles Lakers’ new head coach (even if he can’t quite get the name right yet).
The Lakers made their long-expected hire on Thursday, naming former NBA guard JJ Redick as their new coach. Redick, a first-time head coach with no prior NBA coaching experience, is getting a four-year contract for a decent amount of money.
The retired Lakers legend Johnson commented on the Redick hire in a post to his X page. He said that he was cautiously optimistic about Redick … but also referred to him as “JJ Reddick.”
I’m cautiously optimistic that this new hire is a success for both the Lakers and JJ Reddick. I enjoyed watching him as a player – great 3-point shooting, high basketball IQ, passion for the game, and mental and physical toughness. If he can bring how he played professionally to…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 20, 2024
Johnson also repeated the incorrect “Reddick” spelling in a subsequent post about the Lakers’ next steps.
Naming a head coach was just the first step. Even bigger than naming JJ Reddick as the Head Coach, Rob Pelinka’s next step must be to improve the roster if we are going to compete against all the powerhouse teams in the West like the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Mavericks, Suns,…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 20, 2024
In fairness to Johnson, Reddick is the more common last name. Plenty of notable sports figures, including New York Jets All-Pro Haason Reddick, ex-Houston Astros champion Josh Reddick, and NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick all have it spelled that way.
But Redick is the only one who matters right now for the Lakers. Johnson seemed very excited about the potential of the Lakers hiring UConn head coach Dan Hurley earlier this month. But with that one ultimately falling through and Redick now becoming the consolation prize, it seems that Johnson still has some warming up to do.
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