JJ Redick Reacts to Longtime Mentor Bob Beyer's Retirement From Lakers Staff

A Trusted Voice Steps Away The Lakers are heading into the season without one of their most experienced voices on the bench. Assistant coach Bob Beyer, a 40-plus-year NBA coaching veteran, has retired after two seasons working alongside head coach JJ Redick — a relationship that goes back far longer than their time in Los Angeles.

Redick addressed the news after Tuesday's training camp practice, and it's clear this wasn't just a coworker leaving. Beyer coached Redick for five seasons in Orlando and again briefly in New Orleans before Redick was traded to Dallas. When Redick landed his first head coaching job with the Lakers, Beyer was one of his first calls.

Why the Timing Caught Redick Off Guard Most coaching staff shakeups happen right after the postseason wraps up, giving teams time to plan for the next campaign. That's not what happened here. Redick told reporters Beyer's decision came in mid-August — well after the usual offseason coaching carousel had settled — and it genuinely surprised him.

"It came as a surprise because it didn't happen in May," Redick said. "It happened mid-August when I got back. I understood the reasons why. I didn't try to talk him out of it."

That response says a lot about the trust between the two. Rather than push back or ask Beyer to stick around for one more year, Redick respected the decision and let him go out on his own terms — which he emphasized multiple times, noting Beyer leaves "on great terms" with the organization.

More Than a Coach Redick didn't hold back describing what Beyer meant to him, both as a player and later as a colleague. He called him "a very important person" in his NBA life, "someone I explicitly trust and believe in," and credited him as a mentor not just to himself but to the Lakers' younger coaching staff. That last point matters — Beyer wasn't just filling a seat on the bench; he was reportedly helping develop the next wave of assistants in LA's coaching pipeline.

What It Means for the Lakers With training camp underway, the Lakers now have to adjust their coaching structure without one of their most seasoned voices. Redick, still relatively new to head coaching himself, leaned heavily on Beyer's decades of experience during his first two years running an NBA bench. Losing that steady presence right as the season approaches adds a layer of adjustment for a staff that was otherwise building continuity.

No word yet on whether the Lakers will bring in a replacement or redistribute Beyer's responsibilities among the existing staff, but expect more details to surface as camp progresses and the roster around Redick continues to take shape.