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Former podcaster and new Lakers coach JJ Redick is already walking out of postgame interviews, less than 10 games into his coaching career.

Redick thought he delivered a mic-drop moment Wednesday night after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies, though the abrupt exit seemed more cranky than ‘cool.’

After his 3-0 start as coach, Redick finally sees the hard side of the job. Having lost four of his last five games, the Lakers are once again looking like a mess, with the team’s lousy defense mostly to blame for their recent skid.

CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 30: Head coach JJ Redick # of the Los Angeles Lakers yells to his players during the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 30, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

After the 131-114 loss to Ja Morant’s Grizzlies, Redick was asked about the team’s low discipline on the court.

Rather than further expound on the issue, Redick replied with a three-word response, got up, and left the media session.

“I just did,” the 40-year-old Redick replied when asked about the team’s lack of effort.

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LeBron James was not to blame for the loss, putting up 39 points in 35 minutes against Memphis.

Despite missing Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura due to injury, LeBron James, at the age of 39, should not be outplaying the younger players on his team.

Redick made sure to kiss James’ ring during his media session.

“I think LeBron was fantastic tonight,” Redick shared. “I mean, the biggest thing that stood out, I had no idea he had 39 [points]. I’m not looking at the box scores during the game, but he played hard. Almost 40 years old and played the hardest on our team, says a lot about him.”

Getting to the core of the issue, reporters asked Redick why it’s been a sluggish outing for a team still bearing heavy expectations for a deep playoff run and, ideally, a high Western Conference seeding. With their 4-4 record, the Lakers currently sit 10th in the West, forfeiting the ninth spot in the conference to Memphis, who improved to 5-4.

DENVER, COLORADO – DECEMBER 25: Former NBA player JJ Redick works for ESPN at Ball Arena on December 25, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)

The neophyte at coach is not expected to know all the answers. But he (being Redick) is at least expected to act like a leader.

Another one of his early follies has been criticizing players outright, including Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, whose season is offensively off to a bad start.

In a player-led league like the NBA, coaches only have so much tether before a player barks back.

If it weren’t for Redick’s podcasting experience with star LeBron, he might not have had the confidence to start calling out players during interviews.

With Wednesday night’s storming out of his press conference, Redick has a long way to go before establishing himself as a respectable coach in this league.

And did we mention Redick had zero coaching experience before leading one of the league’s most storied franchises … ?

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