‘I already died’: JJ Redick isn’t fazed by Charles Barkley — or anyone — doubting the Lakers

JJ Redick often thinks about a quote from an HBO miniseries on World War II that aired in 2001. 

“There’s a scene in ‘Band of Brothers’ where they’re in the trenches and one of the soldiers, who’s really scared, asks the other guy, ‘How are you able to go out and fight? You don’t seem scared,'” Redick recalled. “And he says, ‘It’s because I’m already dead.'”

Redick adopted that philosophy when he took over the helm of the Lakers in June without any coaching experience. It was a coping mechanism to steel himself from the harsh reality that the coach’s seat in the NBA has become a lightning rod for blame and a revolving door. 

“When I took this job, I already died,” he said. “So, I’m well aware of this profession, but it’s not even on my radar. I’m already dead.”

During LeBron James’ seven-season tenure with the Lakers, head coaches Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham were both hired and fired. Vogel led the Lakers to their first championship in 10 years in 2020 and was fired in 2022; Ham helped the Lakers reach the Conference Finals in 2023 and was fired in May.

Redick entered into this situation with his eyes wide open. 

So far this season, the Lakers have had some wild swings. After they won their first three games, followed by a six-game winning streak in November, Redick was widely praised as the antidote to the Lakers’ woes over the past few seasons. 

Then they went through a stretch in which they lost eight of 11 games, falling to 10th place in the West from late November to early December. Now, they’re on an upswing again, and are currently in fourth place after winning eight of their last 11 contests. 

When they were losing, former NBA player Gilbert Arenas called out the irony of Ham being scapegoated for the Lakers’ problems while Redick somehow went unscathed.

“Hey, tell Ham to come on back, man,” Arenas joked on his podcast, “Gil’s Arena.” “…We need somebody to blame. I just want to be like, ‘It’s the coach. It is the coach’s fault.'”

Heck, even amid their current winning streak, TNT analyst Charles Barkley interrupted highlights of the Boston Celtics’ 118-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday to lay into Redick on an episode of “Inside the NBA.”

“You’re just a dead man walking,” Barkley said. “They got rid of Frank Vogel, who did a good job. They got rid of Darvin Ham, who did a good job. But you came out there thinking you were gonna change things with that same ugly girl you went on a date with. The Lakers stink.

“He came in there thinking, “I can make this thing work.’ The hell you can! You can put some makeup on that pig! The Lakers stink, man. Come on, man.”

Barkley’s rant was fueled by comments Redick made last month when he was asked for his thoughts on the decline in TV ratings and whether he thinks the 3-point shot contributes to that. 

As part of his long and detailed response, Redick mentioned that he didn’t think “national partners” have done a good job “celebrating the game,” something Barkley clearly took personally even though he wasn’t directly mentioned. 

As for Redick, he claimed he was nonplussed by Barkley’s words. 

“I didn’t make it all the way through the clip, I gotta be honest with you,” Redick said Friday before the Lakers hosted the Atlanta Hawks. “My resting heart rate is probably 64. I watched the clip, it was 64. Literally don’t care. I have other thoughts. But don’t care.”

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But being in a so-called feud with Barkley is never a good thing for someone holding one of the most precarious 30 positions in the NBA.

In 2023, six coaches were fired, including Doc Rivers, Monty Williams, Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer, Steven Silas and Dwane Casey. Just last week, the Sacramento Kings stunned the NBA world by firing Mike Brown, the unanimous Coach of the Year in 2023. 

Sure, outside opinions such as Barkley’s hold no water in terms of Redick’s job security. But then again, the national conversation reverberates and Barkley’s voice surely holds a lot of weight. 

Barkley added that he now has his sights set on Redick. 

“JJ, you come for the king, you better not miss,” Barkley said. “Because I can get you, brother. Remember, I got your Lakers games.”

Through it all, Redick has tried to ignore the noise.

Redick opened the season drawing unanimous wonder. He was such an unknown. We knew that he was a 3-point specialist from watching him play. And we knew that he was a basketball savant from hearing him talk about the game as an ESPN analyst. But a newbie coaching one of the league’s premier franchises?

This was going to go really well. Or very bad. 

James and Davis opened the season singing his praises, lauding him for being so prepared and for his vision being so well-expressed. 

And it seems as though they still feel that way. 

After Redick challenged Davis “to win MVP,” he responded by being at the top of that conversation at the beginning of the season. And Friday, when asked about the Lakers’ improved offense, James chalked it up to preparedness, which, seemingly, was a hat tip to Redick. “We all kind of know where we’re supposed to be,” James said. 

But Redick knows the season is long and more tough stretches will come. 

The good news for Redick, which could help him remain impervious to the outside noise, is that he appears to be his biggest critic.

While he claimed his resting heart rate remained unchanged while watching Barkley’s rant, it’s clear that’s not the case when the Lakers are losing. He’s incredibly animated during games. And crushed when things don’t go as planned.

He even acknowledged he literally goes to a dark place (his basement) after games and pours over film.

So, even though Arenas pointing out what he viewed as a double-standard and Barkley fully laying into Redick may show that Redick’s days as the league’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed golden child wielding a clipboard may have come to an end, he’s apparently willing to take the heat. 

“I signed up for the hard stuff,” he said. “I didn’t sign up for the easy stuff. I enjoy problem-solving.”

This much is clear: There are lots of eyes on him. He’s in LA. His grace period is reaching its close. 

Good thing for him, now the Lakers are shining. 

But if that changes, his detractors will come for him, whether he plays dead or not.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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