"What is he gonna teach LeBron?"- Suns announcer goes in on Lakers' JJ Redick hiring, weeks after 'testing manhood' jab
Phoenix Suns announcer and former NBA player Eddie A. Johnson seemingly disapproved of the LA Lakers reportedly hiring JJ Redick as their next head coach. Johnson raised plenty of doubts about the former Duke star's mettle as a leader and his ability to motivate the team. He believes the Redick's hiring was conditional.
"They are going with him because they saw so many people saying positive things," Johnson said on Thursday on Sirius XM NBA Radio. "I think that's part of it, like guy gets out there, and all of a sudden they don't want to lose him"
Johnson then questioned Redick's credentials as he reportedly enters this role without prior experience. He highlighted the daunting task of coaching the NBA's most popular team with the face of the league, LeBron James and a star like Anthony Davis, who come off as 'polarizing,' per House.
"The biggest question mark, is not his [Redick's] understanding of basketball, but his motivational skills because that's what it's gonna take to get those guys on board," Johnson said. "What is he gonna teach LeBron? What is he gonna teach Anthony Davis?"
Eddie A. Johnson clarified he has questions about JJ Redick's ability to motivate LA's stars because he's not seen it yet, since he has no experience.
Eddie A. Johnson and JJ Redick got into it weeks ago over latter's Michael Jordan take
It's not the first time Eddie A. Johnson has thrown a jab at JJ Redick. A few weeks ago, the two got into an online back-and-forth over Redick's bold take on Michael Jordan's era. The reported Lakers head coach said that Jordan's prime came in the middle of a 'watered down' league, where the competition in the regular season wasn't as good. He cited expansion teams and new players entering the league as reasons behind his opinion.
Johnson, who played in the same era as Jordan, seemingly took offense at Redick's comments and hit back with a nasty jab, tweeting:
"So says a guy who was 6 years old when the 90’s started! We would have tested your manhood quickly! If anything you would have been relegated to serving water to the veterans until you manned up. Analytic brain would have ran you out the league in the 90’s"
JJ Redick took note of Johnson's comments and responded in the comments section, calling the Suns' announcer out for taking a swing at his career. Johnson defended himself that he always lauded Redick during his playing days. However, he wasn't a fan of how he criticized the 90s era to prove his point.