JJ Redick has drawn comparisons to Pat Riley, however Shaquille O’Neal would not see any similarities between the brand new Lakers head coach and the Warmth president.
On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, O’Neal took severe offense to Pat McAfee suggesting that many in NBA circles had been referring to Redick as “the subsequent Pat Riley.”
“Cease it,” O’Neal stated. “No. Initially, JJ is a pleasant man. Pat Riley is the person. So, think about you are available (as a participant) and JJ Redick begins yelling at you. It is gonna be a (expletive) battle in there. Gamers ain’t going for all that yelling and all that screaming and all that further working. Subsequent Pat Riley, my a—.”
O’Neal spent almost 4 seasons taking part in beneath Riley as a part of the Warmth, successful his fourth NBA championship in 2006. Riley was instrumental in convincing O’Neal to simply accept a commerce to the Warmth from Los Angeles in 2004 after the large man had a reported falling out with Lakers possession.
The Redick-Riley comparisons started largely attributable to their comparable trajectories to a head-coaching seat within the NBA.
Very like Riley, Redick traded in a broadcasting function for the clipboard after retiring as a participant. Nonetheless, the most important distinction is that Riley spent almost two seasons because the Lakers’ assistant coach under Paul Westhead earlier than ascending to the pinnacle teaching seat. Redick has by no means coached on the professional stage.
Redick will get an opportunity to show his naysayers incorrect within the upcoming NBA season, his first as the brand new head coach of the Lakers. The Purple & Gold are projected to win 44.5 games a 12 months after they received 47 video games and completed because the seventh seed within the Western Convention.