JJ Redick won over Lakers fans at NBA Draft by being the opposite of Darvin Ham

In the heat of March Madness, LeBron James mentioned Dalton Knecht as one of the players that made him tune in to watch Tennessee face Purdue in the Elite Eight bracket of the NCAA Tournament. Around the same time, James launched his "Mind the Game" podcast with co-host J.J. Redick, a former Duke star and 15-year NBA veteran.

Now, James will have an opportunity to be teammates with the former Tennessee wing, while being coached by his podcast co-host.

The Los Angeles Lakers made the controversial decision to hire Redick as their next head coach after disappointing seasons with more traditional coaches, Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham. The Lakers provided Redick with his first rookie to mold last night when they selected Knect with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Apparently, he wasted no time getting to work.

Lakers HC J.J. Redick draws up plays for Dalton Knecht — and fans love it

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said Redick immediately began to scheme up after timeout sets and pin-down screens for Knecht next season, according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha.

News of a head coach scheming plays is a pleasant anecdote for Lakers fans, who have heard nothing more than salutes and pep talks from Darvin Ham for the past two years.

In 2022, Ham didn't diagram a play on his board, instead choosing to simply scribble "CONTEST [WITHOUT] FOULING." Although, to be fair, it was after the Lakers committed seven fouls in the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors.

At some point, Lakers star Anthony Davis also seemingly grew tired of Ham's inability to coach. After the Lakers lost Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, Davis told reporters that the team had "stretches where we just don't know what we're doing on both ends of the floor."

For Redick, who has spent his post-playing career as an analyst and broadcaster, becoming an NBA head coach will be baptism by fire. The first-time coach will be asked to help one of the NBA's most storied franchises return to glory and help James win one last title in the twilight of his career, all while their rivals, the Boston Celtics, celebrate a record-setting 18th championship banner.

The Lakers have taken a lot of criticism for hiring Redick as their head coach, but fans seem to be warming up to Redick after