The Los Angeles Lakers are feeling confident about their standing heading into the 2023-24 season. But for Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal, there is a strong belief that things might start a bit slower than expected.
"That is the LeBron show, LeBron is in charge over there. I think personally they're gonna have a rough start," said O'Neal. "And what I mean by that is that it's all about respect. And if I'm a guy who has played 7, 8 years and I'm getting a young coach who I think I was a better player than, there'd going to be a level of disrespect there. LeBron and Anthony Davis will do a great job of keeping everybody in order but you always said that if you really respect your coach you will really go out there and play hard. I was fortunate enough to play with Phil Jackson and Pat Riley because I knew they knew what they were talking about. All the other coaches,s there were times where I was like 'I don't know if that's gonna work.'"
On paper, the Lakers seemingly have everything they need to make another title run. They have the star power, depth, and championship experience to make things really interesting in the post-season. But even with all of that, there are reasons to doubt their status as a title contender.
For Shaquille O'Neal (a 4x champion), his biggest questions revolve around new Lakers coach JJ Redick. After nearly getting swept in the first round against the Nuggets this spring, the Lakers promptly dismissed Darvin Ham in favor of former Clippers shooting guard, JJ Redick.
While Redick is no doubt knowledgeable about the game, he was nothing more than a role-player in the NBA and he never won a championship. What's more, he has absolutely no coaching experience at any level.
For a Lakers team full of veterans and accomplished athletes, Redick will have to somehow earn their respect without any sort of track record to lean on. Redick will have to prove to his team that he knows what he's doing even though he'll be learning on the job.
During his Lakers tenure, O'Neal mostly played under Phil Jackson, who was already considered a coaching genius for his role in leading the Bulls to six NBA titles. In Miami, he played under Pat Riley who had already proven himself as an elite coaching figure.
Shaq was quick to fall in line for those guys, but he has already stated point-blank that he couldn't have played for Redick . The truth is, JJ's lack of experience will make it much harder for him to earn the respect of his players and respect is needed for any coach to succeed on the job.
Ultimately, it will fall on LeBron James and Anthony Davis to set the example and show their teammate that Redick can be trusted. For the Lakers' sake, JJ must find a way to earn the confidence of his players so that they can follow his game plan without issue.
Whether Redick succeeds this season or not, he should have time to figure things out after signing a 4-year, $32 million contract in free agency. After going from Frank Vogel to Darvin Ham and now JJ Redick, it was important for the Lakers to get this hire right and things could turn ugly if the guy fails to earn the respect of his players.
Related: ESPN Predicts Los Angeles Lakers To Finish 11th In The West
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