For the second time in less than a year after firing Jeff Van Gundy — purportedly over fears he might return to coaching — ESPN has lost one of its lead NBA analysts to a coaching gig.
ESPN NBA analyst JJ Redick has agreed to become the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, according to multiple reports Thursday, putting an end to his three-year-old tenure with the network. Redick started this season on ESPN’s “B” team, but was promoted halfway through to its “A” team to replace Doc Rivers, who joined ESPN last offseason only to leave in January to coach the Milwaukee Bucks.
Redick’s departure means that ESPN will have to debut a third iteration of its lead broadcast team in less than a year since laying off Van Gundy and Mark Jackson last summer. If the network followed the same succession plan it used for Rivers, it would seem likely that Richard Jefferson would ascend to the lead team alongside the returning Mike Breen and Doris Burke.
Alternatively, Scott Van Pelt hinted on SportsCenter this month that Tim Legler is looking to work more games, rather than his customary studio hits. Legler got a rare game assignment during the playoffs in May.
ESPN will not be able to simply cut its losses and undo the changes of the past year, assuming it is even so inclined. Van Gundy — who just won a title as a consultant with the Boston Celtics — has reportedly accepted a job as lead assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers.
As for Redick, the Lakers job at least temporarily slows a quick ascension in television. Redick established himself as an on-air presence with his own podcast “The Old Man and the Three” and parlayed that into his ESPN role and a second podcast he co-hosted with Lakers F LeBron James.
