JJ Redick has now completed two seasons as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, and both campaigns have ended with first-round playoff exits despite strong regular seasons. In his debut season in 2024-25, Redick guided Los Angeles to a 50-32 record, the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and a Pacific Division title. However, the Lakers were eliminated 4-1 by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Redick followed that up with another successful regular season in 2025-26, leading the Lakers to a second consecutive 50-win season (53-29) and becoming the franchise's first coach since Phil Jackson (2010-11) to accomplish that feat in back-to-back years. Despite another encouraging regular season, Los Angeles again fell short of its championship aspirations after a second-round loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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The Lakers responded by making sweeping changes this offseason. With Luka Doncic now established as the face of the franchise following LeBron James' departure, Rob Pelinka revamped the roster around the six-time All-Star.
The Lakers made another notable change on Friday. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Lakers are promoting South Bay Lakers head coach Zach Guthrie to an assistant coach and head of player development on Redick's staff.
The promotion comes after Guthrie led South Bay to the best record in the NBA G League during the 2025-26 season.
Guthrie brings a wealth of experience to Redick's staff despite being just 39 years old. Before becoming South Bay's head coach, he spent three seasons as an assistant with the Washington Wizards, following previous assistant coaching stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz.
He also began his NBA career in basketball operations with the San Antonio Spurs, learning under one of the league's most respected organizations. His work with South Bay helped produce the G League's top regular-season record while overseeing the development of several Lakers players like Bronny James and Dalton Knecht.
