JJ Redick shares insight about his coaching interviews with the Raptors
The Toronto Raptors made a high-profile coaching change this summer, but one of the candidates who didn’t get the job still has plenty of thoughts on how the team is faring so far.
JJ Redick, a 15-year NBA veteran, is the latest voice to share an opinion on Scottie Barnes’ impressive season to date. Redick, interestingly, was among the team’s candidates for their head coaching vacancy earlier this summer, which was ultimately filled by Darko Rajaković.
The winner of the 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, Barnes has averaged 22.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in seven games this season, up from 15.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 77 games last year.
Discussing Barnes’ hot start to the season on Monday on The Old Man and The Three Things podcast alongside Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jones Jr., Redick suggested Toronto isn’t quite built in a way to set Barnes up for success.
“The roster around him is not the ideal fit,” Redick said bluntly. “You need players around him that can play with him as a hub.”
Toronto has been the centre of trade rumours for the better part of a year now, with the team’s two longest-tenured players, Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, possibly heading to free agency next summer.
But it’s been Barnes leading the team in scoring for the team this season, with Dennis Schroder (16.9 points per game) and Anunoby (16.2) occupying the team’s other two spots. Siakam sits all the way in fourth with just 15.4 points per game, a far cry from the 24.2 he averaged just a season ago.
Redick also shared a bit of insight into his own thoughts on what he would’ve changed with the Raptors after talking to the team over the summer.
“When I was interviewing for the Raptors job, it was one of the things I looked at… They’re in the lower third of cutting frequency and cutting efficiency,” Redick added.
Some thoughts from @jj_redick today alongside @NekiasNBA and @stevejones20 about the #Raptors' roster construction around Scottie Barnes & his interview process for the team's coaching job:
"The roster around him is not the ideal fit… you need players around him that can play… pic.twitter.com/RgIzYUv8sA
— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) November 6, 2023
Redick continued his point by offering a comparison of Barnes’ game to two NBA All-Stars, including the league’s reigning Finals MVP.
“To me, Scottie, he’s a jack of all trades player in some ways, but à la [Nikola] Jokic, à la [Domantas] Sabonis, to me, [Barnes is] a hub. You need players around him that can play with him as a hub.”
The full episode is available below: