Shaq sounds off on JJ Redick

Never one to hold back his thoughts, Shaquille O’Neal weighed in on the Los Angeles Lakers hiring JJ Redick as the 29th head coach in franchise history. The Lakers recently introduced the longtime NBA player and now-former podcast host as Darvin Ham’s successor on Monday, June 25.

Shaq told his co-host Adam Lefkoe that even when Redick was a guest on their Big Podcast with Shaq show; he knew that Redick would be the next head coach of the Lakers , and not the Charlotte Hornets, as Lefkoe quipped.

“It makes it look crazy that a guy with no experience can overshadow a guy like Sam Cassell, who’s been in the league 15 years, this and that,” said O’Neal. “Just let me say that. No disrespect to JJ, but I think Sam should also be able to get the same looks. But I’m happy for JJ; a lot of pressure. Winning games will not be good enough. The expectation when you take that job, when you take the Miami Heat job, and when you take a job where there’s a lot of talent, the expectation is to win championships.”

While Shaq is well aware of the expectations Redick will face, he has no idea what type of coach he’ll be.

“I saw something funny on Instagram that said he was an assistant coach for a Brooklyn fourth-grade girls team — that’s his only coaching experience,” Shaq said. “For me as a player, if I didn’t respect the coach, it was easy for me to turn my 100 percent down. Let me explain; I’m going to give you 100 anyway. But if it’s a situation where I know we’re not going to go, 100 is hard to maintain.

“That’s when I play for a guy like Phil Jackson; I already knew his resume…I’ve sat there and watch him go to the finals six times with Michael (Jordan) and win six times. So, if he says, ‘Stop doing this and do something else,’ I’m going to do it every time because he knows what he’s talking about. That’s why when I went to Miami, you play for a guy like Pat Riley, he says, ‘Do something,’ you do it. It wins because I understand a resume.

“For a guy like me that got all the blame when things didn’t go right. If you didn’t have that championship experience and I can question you, it was always hard for me to believe in you.”

It’s also hard for Shaq to believe that Redick didn’t talk to LeBron James before accepting the job.

“Yeah, I’m starting a website called yeahright/(expletive).com,” he said. “Everything goes through LeBron at the Lakers. Everything goes through LeBron, and I know that for a fact because when you’re in that position as leadership, you get to know everything. I was in that seat for a long time. Nothing went without my permission. The only time something went down without my permission is when they cut my head and traded me.

“And then Kobe (Bryant) took over. And nothing went down without his permission. I know everything that goes on is definitely discussed with LeBron and Rich (Paul) and those guys. It’s professional for him to say, ‘We didn’t talk about it,’ but yeah, OK. Nobody believes that.

“My question is, you have LeBron’s respect, and he’s ticking up for you, but what about the other guys? That’s gonna be the test. I don’t think I could play for a guy I just played against four or five years ago. I don’t think I can do it.”

But if they paid Shaq $20 million a year, he’d make the transition from media to coaching in a heartbeat. $8 million isn’t nearly enough.

“But, listen, first-time coach — I like JJ,” added O’Neal. “I respect him as a player. I don’t know what he can do as a coach; we shall see. You have LeBron. You have (Anthony Davis). The question is, how are you gonna manage the other guys? What offense are you going to run?”

As Shaq said, we shall see.

[ The Big Podcast with Shaq ]

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