Photo: Jamie Schwaberow
Chris Broussard: “Rob, we have seen guys who are highly touted assistance... I mean Darvin Ham, who we think did a solid job shouldn’t have been fired but the fact is he was and Darvin Ham was a highly touted assistant and yet two years after getting his first job he’s fired... so it’s really hard to tell who will be great. You would’ve thought Steve Nash would have been a good head coach... I mean he obviously knows the game, he was a smart leader, floor general and had the Stars on his side with Kyrie and KD (Durant) and he failed miserably. Derek Fisher didn’t get a great opportunity with the Knicks but he failed miserably.
Chris Broussard: “When I look at JJ Reddick, I do think he knows the game. He sounds very smart about the game and what he breaks down on TV is good. He seems to have a strong personality which I think is necessary as a head coach so those are pluses but there’s no way you can say he’s going to be the next Pat Riley. We didn’t know Pat Riley would be the next Pat Riley...Riley, Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr mediocre players. Redick just retired three years ago, dudes remember dunking on him and dudes remember hunting him on defense. If they (Lakers) hire JJ Redick, the perception not only publicly but among the players in that locker room may be they hired your (LeBron’s) boy.”
On the latest episode of The Odd Couple, Chris Broussard and Rob Parker explain why it’s tough to predict which highly touted assistants will be great head coaches. Listen to the full segment below!