Emotional JJ Redick reflects on ‘devastation’ from Palisades wildfire

After losing his home to the Palisades wildfire, Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke of the “devastation and destruction” he witnessed this week.

For obvious reasons, Friday’s practice for the Lakers had a much different tone than any other this season.

With fires raging across Los Angeles, the focus might have been on practice but minds were in lots of different places. No one represented that more than head coach JJ Redick.

As reported by Shams Charania of ESPN earlier in the week, Redick and his family lost their home to the Palisades fire. Redick’s wife and kids evacuated on Tuesday afternoon at the same time that the Lakers were preparing for their game in Dallas.

After landing back in Los Angeles late on Tuesday night following a delay, Redick needed to see it for himself. What he was met with was beyond his worse nightmares.

“I was not prepared,” Redick said, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “I was prepared for what I saw. It’s complete devastation and destruction.”

Redick spoke little about basketball to the media on Friday, roughly 24 hours after the Lakers had their game against the Hornets postponed, and much about the community he had become a part of. The emotions were hard to hold back for Redick, who talked about how good the Palisades community had treated him and his family.

Redick also shared that he had signed up to help coach his sons’ winter basketball team at the Palisades rec center with their first practice set for this past Wednesday. Not only did the family have to evacuate on Tuesday, but the rec center burned to the ground as well.

Friday, then, offered some normalcy for Redick and the Lakers, from the players to the coaches, the staff and the front office around them. Redick wasn’t alone in losing his home as he spoke of others in the organization who were dealing with the same tragedy.

As much as basketball can be a silly little game at times, Friday showed it can also bring some comfort as well.

“This is like our safe place,” Austin Reaves said. “Even before this tragedy that’s happened, this is a place we come to kind of block everything out…Obviously it’s a bigger situation [right now]. You’re not ever going to completely not think about what’s going on, especially in LA when this happening. But it’s an opportunity to be around people that you love.”

Reaves spoke first at Friday’s scrum. Once he finished talked to the media, he walked over and embraced Redick before he stepped in front of reporters.

“I texted him the morning we got back after [vice president of basketball operations] Rob [Pelinka] sent us a text about what happened to him and his family’s home. Just reaching out just showing not just me, but this team loves him and cares about him and his family.

“He’s such a competitor. He comes into work every single day, especially today, and wants to do his job. There’s a million other things he could be thinking about doing right now but he’s dedicated to what he’s doing here and obviously he’s dedicated to his family.”

There were so many other places Redick, Reaves and the Lakers could have been on Friday. But for Redick, he was where he wanted to be.”

“Being here for me was great because it gave me something to look forward to, honestly,” Redick said. “…I do believe that, for everybody that has been impacted by this, there’s a grieving process, there’s a healing process. I can only speak for myself. Part of my healing and grieving process is being here with these guys and coaching basketball.”

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.