FIRST TAKE | JJ Redick is the best choice for Lakers as HC & It would keep LeBron in LA – Shannon

FIRST TAKE | JJ Redick is the best choice for Lakers as HC & It would keep LeBron in LA – Shannon

injuries kept stacking up it was too much to overcome as the Pacers knocked them off in seven at MSG now questions remain if the Knicks should add another star alongside jayen Brunson I mean maybe they need to just work on their medical staff and on the other coast we have the Lakers who squeaked into the playoffs through the playin and lost in the first round to the defending Champion nuggets it was the second straight year they were booted from the playoffs by Denver okay here’s the deal we got two big Market teams and entering the off season you know we’re sometimes elitists New York La Shannon try to be unbiased we know how you feel about the west coast is the best coast I like to say East Coast is the Beast Coast I know that’s corny but it’s where I’m from uh Shannon which team has more at stake this off season is it the Knicks or the Lakers more at stake I think that I I think the Knicks are the easy the easier fix is the Knicks I mean they went to the second around they had a ton of injuries uh they have their coaching place if they get some of these guys healed up they’re going to be okay the the the Lakers man damn they tried the third Superstar I they thought they had that with Russ I don’t believe they need a third Superstar I think they need better role players because the difference in the series in which the Nuggets lost is that their role players did not play as well as the t-wolves role players because they made it a three Onre uh uh situation because if you look at the Lakers and the nuggets the big two from each team canceled each other out but Michael Porter Jr Aaron Gordon and kcp outplayed on average ruie Austin Reeves and DLo and that was the difference in the ball game man I just and I get what perk saying says look ad is the younger of the guys he’s going to be there the longer find a a coach that’s better suited for ad uh I think I I honestly I think the Nuggets excuse me the are the easier fix but the Lakers have more at stake this offseason because it’s not like they got LeBron James for the next 5 years they don’t I know he thinks he can play that long but I don’t believe he CL can Wendy okay you you corrected yourself there too because it sound like you were saying that the the Knicks had the harder lift in the off season fix it at the end otherwise you’re going to need that spray [Laughter] bottle uh the the Lakers have no coach right now no coach their star players are in their 30s they have a fraction of the assets that the Knicks have um yeah the Knicks are you know the second seed and there’s a big golf between them and the Celtics and there other Eastern Conference teams that are going to be fighting to get in there because they got up you know they were fortunate this year there were some injuries that knocked some teams behind them but the Lakers are they got a they got a real tough road to Ho here I mean I honestly don’t know they don’t have a great option for head coach right now whatever coach that they end up hiring is going to be a risk on one side either the high side or the low the downside or the upside and they’re fishing around you know for these star players I know what you know people are saying well the Lakers are going to trade for a star player well the Lakers don’t have a great selection of things to trade they have some stuff they’ve got some draft picks but if there’s a bidding war for a star player I don’t think the Lakers can win it unless that star player says send me the Lakers and that’s it and forces his way there which is not simple um I think the Lakers you know and also the Western Conference I mean the Lakers are in seventh place this year all right who are they passing who are they passing and who behind them is going to be in position to pass them it’s rough and it’s not even I mean I would I would take almost any Eastern team as a better Outlook than almost any Western team that’s trying to do a come up because just it’s just so much tougher I mean in all honesty if you look at the Lakers job one of the reasons why it’s such a brutally hard coaching job is that even if you come in and do great and and totally maximize what you have you could still be back in the playin so the Lakers situation by their own making and by circumstances that are outside of their control is much much harder than the Knicks right Wendy which is exactly why the Knicks have more at stake this off season when I’m thinking of this question who has more at stake the Knicks we were just talking about whether or not they need to add a piece to the group that they have so the Knicks are deciding do we want to keep what we have or do we want to add a piece and the reason they’re deciding that is because they have a legitimate chance to be in the finals next season we’ve all already said that we’ve already said this Nick group as currently constructed can make a finals push next year and if they add a piece they haven’t even better chance so what they decide to do this off season there’s a lot at stake there because they can go far it doesn’t matter what the Lakers do this offseason yes you want to get this next decision right but even if they hire the best coach and even if they add a couple of pieces I don’t think it’s going to be enough to get to the finals like I don’t think it matters what the Lakers do this I need I need Clarity on this I know I’m the one that asked the question so basically is what we’re saying that the Knicks have more at stake because the Knicks have a better shot that’s so the Lakers are so far out in the west regardless that that’s why there’s less at stake or but you could sort of flip it and say they have more at stake because they’re so I don’t think it matters what they do this offseason that’s kind of what I felt like Wendy was alluding to unless I heard him incorrectly I don’t think it like we’re looking at a what moves they make this off season but then what we’re looking at a remodel versus a demolition here we we got like one house that that needs to redo a sink or a kitchen and then the other house you got to tear down some walls and like figure out what we you know what we got going on so the expectations are different now from the Outlook of who has more pressure you would say the Knicks because they’re in more of a situation where next year they could capitalize and compete in the finals but on that same cloth we talked about earlier they could be careful to add their piece they are in a position to be careful because they’re already really good they have a whole bunch of assets they can move or don’t move they have cash to to spend um and they have most of their star players not playing so you you get them healthy next year this team is already really good so when we talk about going into the summer who needs to make major changes and who is under pressure I the only reason I say the Lakers is because my God uh you have the best the most famous player to ever play our sport other than than Michael in his last Primal years wasting away right now you have ad you have ad also uh who’s 31 32 years old he’s no like spring chicken anymore he’s played 12 years in the NBA wasting his years in the league they don’t have a head coach uh they don’t know what assets work they they don’t even know what coach wants the job to be honest Bud could have had the job he don’t want it because the seats too hot so like it’s like what the hell in terms of like this sum like they got a lot to figure they got a lot to figure out that house is running down you you got yourself to the right spot you you got there good job what did they do like if what would you do if you were in the front office there what’s the first move you’re making if I’m making if I’m making well listen people might not want to hear this Shannon you might want to close close your ears I I’m not saying that this I don’t even think to to harp on perks point he said this should be a decision based around ad when we talk about the coach yep I think this decision needs to be for the Lakers okay they have assets that they could move I’m not saying re rebuild or or restart but we got to stop building a team around guys that we don’t know are going to be there long term vers in terms of you know when you talk about the Lakers what direction you don’t believe LeBron James going to be there more than go ass said see you beating around the bush I came to church to hear the word now either give me the word or I’m going have to leave this church lead the church it’s supposed to be the truth Austin is no but at the end of the day maybe it’s best for LeBron if he wants to if he wants to win a couple other Rings maybe the Lakers isn’t the best spot for him maybe it goes both way it isn’t but he wants to be in La he wants to be in La that’s a lifestyle he said that before he got there was a lifestyle before he even went a ring there he said I’m going to La for a lifestyle change he’s got the kid in they live in brenwood they got the kid of Sierra Canyon they got a daughter on the way he ain’t going nowhere he wants to be in LA and that’s just what it is but he’s still very good he’s still one of the best basketball players in the NBA so I mean I just feel like the Lakers he doesn’t want to be remembered as the guy who left La the hard choice you want to be the person to tr LeBron James Davis Wendy before I get to I want to get your thoughts on the coaching search but before we get there what do you think the Lakers do I think they have to re I think D’Angelo Russell opts out and I think the Lakers have to resign him at a huge one-year contract as crazy as that sounds because they have to be able to trade him one year they gave him the mistake of giving a player option last year yeah they have to Austin because otherwise he will have a veto clause in his in his contract they give him a player option like this year he you know and and and he he fought that and so they’re going to have to position themselves to make a big trade and they may not be able to make that big trade in June or July they may have to wait on it there may not be a player available that they can trade for they’ve got to continue to position they’ve got to hold their ground now and they need a head coach who has a vision of how they’re going to to to play to maximize their players when I say maximize their players last year Darvin ham couldn’t always play his best players because his best players couldn’t defend and he had to sometimes play players that that he knew weren’t his best players because it was the only hope of having them defend so there needs to be a plan with the front office and the coach working together to get some players in there who can defend a little bit and and as far as seeking the star I agree they need a talent infusion but it may not happen and they may has to take an intermediate step such as retaining d’angela Russell because if you don’t have Russell you don’t have anything to trade and you know who knows that D’Angelo Russell knows that which is probably why he’s gonna opt out because his his Leverage is going to be you can’t replace me and that’s going to end up being one of the things that’s going to be interesting in the Lakers World this summer Shannon before you jump in here real quick can I just get Wendy can you give me an update real quick on the coaching search because you know I heard my boy JJ reck you know I wanted I wanted to the update on him and obviously who else they’re looking at yeah yeah JJ reick is absolutely a candidate and absolutely a strong candidate and I don’t know whether that’s going to get him the job or not but the person that no one’s talking about really is James bgo and James bgo is going to interview I believe this week with the Lakers and the one of the reasons first off bgo got a raw deal in Charlotte he shouldn’t have lost his job it was a questionable decision at best and I think a lot of the league believes that he’s an excellent coach who hasn’t gotten the opport secondly James bero perk is making this talk about how you should hire a coach for ad and not worry about hiring a coach for LeBron now I don’t know whether the Lakers are feeling that way that’s perk’s opinion other people have that opinion I believe that’s what LeBron has told the Lakers he has said go hire somebody for ad don’t hire somebody for me but I also think that LeBron doesn’t want to be positioned as having selected the coach no matter what he wants to distance himself from the whole process because he doesn’t want that on on uh on his play and I I get that but if you’re looking for a coach for ad I’m just going to tell you James bergo has a long-standing relationship with Anthony Davis they were together in New Orleans when ad came into the league I’m not saying he’s his best friend I’m not saying he’s going to come in there and let him do everything but nobody’s talking about James brego I also think Sam Cassell is an interesting candidate he has not been head coach before but James bgo no one is talking about uh him as a real candidate for this job Shannon when you’re when you’re a LeBron James guy it’s kind of like parents and kids if your kids mess up the parents get blamed if your kids turn out well the parents did a great job it if a coach get fired whether LeBron James wanted him to get fired or not who they blaming Wendy you know that’s that’s what happen the Lakers messed this up a few years ago when they made the trade and gave up those draft picks and that depth for Russ it didn’t not work when you gave up what you gave up you didn’t resign Caruso you got rid of kcp you got rid of KZ that was your Defenders those were your wing Defenders that could also knock down shots and you gave up draft compensation for a guy you couldn’t wait to get rid of that’s what doomed the Lakers let’s be real and I’m not saying look it’s not all Russ’s fault because Russ could never be what Russ wanted to be with LeBron and AD in everybody and I’m want to go on record I want to make sure I’m clear I want to make sure I’m Crystal Clear Andrea and Austin I want to make sure I’m abundantly clear everybody in the world knew that Russ was not a good fit except LeBron James and Anthony Davis that’s why Russ was on the Lakers LeBron James and Anthony Davis wanted him on the Lakers and when it blew up Frank Bogle got the blame and Darin ham wanted to have him come off the bench like he’s doing for the Clippers and he was vetoed on that so this is where it all started and I’m not saying had they not made that trade been the finals I’m not saying they’ have been in the finals I’m not saying they have been any of that but this started what we see today for the Lakers I’m just I’m still 100% now now we’ve transitioned to who should be the Lakers head co next head coach and maybe we’ll get to that I’m just still a little confused because we’re we’re talking about you got show games the head coach Shannon not only when they’re winning you really want that job you’re going to be on the hot seat iMed no Andrea I told him this job is like dating Kim Kardashian I’m get I’m gonna get to go to the m Galla I’m gonna be flying first class and get a couple of her mbag but I know I’m goingon to get the boo in a year and a half to two years so I don’t want it listen you’re not going to be flying first class you’re going to be on a private plane so let’s let’s relax yeah I I I just I’m just still a little confused on the last question because we’re talking about one we feel like LeBron’s going to stay in La so that’s not RIS two we don’t feel like there’s much they can do with with d so that’s there’s nothing there they just need to hire a good coach and take a step in the right available they they need to hire somebody not a good coach avilable I should say that they need to hire the best available to move in the right direction but when you’re comparing to the to the Knicks yeah yeah you okay over there Austin’s a little tired now we’ve had him I mean’s available just you know what I’m saying we don’t have the strongest candidates available right nowers newer for the Lakers this reason why though they choose this they choose your staff you don’t even get to choose your own staff off season no matter what happens it’s just a step in the right direction the Nicks offseason is to compete for a championship that’s why there’s more at stake for the Knicks that’s why there’s more at stake for the Knicks Lakers are just Tak step yes Shannon coaching coaching for the Lakers is a lot like coaching for the Cowboys because they believe it an honor for you to coach there so they don’t pay you anything and then they tell you who’s going to be on your staff because it’s such an honor to be head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers it’s such a head it’s such an honor to be head coach of the Dallas Cowboys so they pay you Pennies on the dollars they give you5 or $6 million when they know the golden rate is somewhere between 10 and15 million Shannon you are bat in a thousand today buddy I mean wow everything that you’re saying is right and you’re in Lakers land there but not everybody nobody believes that you got to go scream that from the street corners cuz everything that you’re saying is right on the nose everything you know I came to ESPN from NFL Network I’m a football girl at heart and I’m loving these football analogies the way you’re breaking it down for me the Patriots the Cowboys spot on speaking to your girl all right uh let’s leave it there when we come back on first take which dynamic duo poses the biggest threat for the rest of the postseason we’re debating which NBA star foree foree fore foreign fore for Fore I don’t know spee [Music] play for spee speech forch fore foreign foreign speech foreign [Music] speech speech foreign for speech foreign spe foreign speech speee [Music] come on sign for foreign speech foreign speech speech foreign 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FIRST TAKE | JJ Redick is the best choice for Lakers as HC & It would keep LeBron in LA – Shannon