Los Angeles Lakers coach, JJ Redick, confirmed that his family lost their home when a wildfire broke out in Pacific Palisades earlier this week.
Redick became emotional when he spoke about the impact of the fire for the first time on Friday after practice with the Lakers, who are currently scheduled to return to action on Saturday against San Antonio.
“I’m not sure [that] “I’ve cried or cried like that in a few years,” Redick said.
Redick said the rental home burned down Tuesday while the Lakers were on the road in Dallas. Redick’s wife, Chelsea, and their two sons were not safe, but Redick drove into Pacific Palisades on Wednesday to see the impact of the fire.
“I wasn’t ready for what I saw,” Redick said. “It’s devastation and destruction. I had to go another way to the house, but I went through a lot of village, it was gone. I don’t think you can ever prepare for something like that. Our home is there. You’re gone.”
Redick felt sad at times when he thought about the fate of the neighborhood that has welcomed his family since Redick became the Lakers’ head coach last summer. The recreation center where Redick spent time with his sons and prepared to coach them in a basketball league is gone, along with almost everything else.
The Redick family rented a home in Pacific Palisades while deciding where to settle permanently in Los Angeles.
“Everything we had that was important to us in almost 20 years together as a couple and 10 years of raising children was in that house,” said Redick. “There [are] some things you can’t change, never will. … Material things are anything. My family and I were dealing with the personal side, the individual side, of losing your home, and you don’t wish that on anyone. It’s a terrible feeling to lose your home.”
Redick is back at work with the Lakers, who are not 100% sure they will play as scheduled on Saturday night.
The Lakers’ home game against Charlotte on Thursday was postponed, as was the home game at the same stadium in the city between the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Calgary on Wednesday.
While the Kings left town on a long road trip, the Lakers were expected to open a five-game homestand with their visit to the Hornets. They host San Antonio on Saturday and Monday, followed by visits from Miami on Wednesday and Brooklyn on Jan. 17.
Redick and Lakers guard Austin Reaves both said the team hopes to play for the chance to provide distraction and entertainment for a tired city.
“It’s hurt, because it’s my fourth year here, and L.A. has shown me nothing but love since Day One when I got here,” Reaves said. “I’ve been telling my people for the last few months that I see myself here forever after basketball, I’m staying here because I’m having so much fun. Seeing the pictures, seeing the videos, it’s sad. People have to leave their homes, the Palisades is burning down, it’s just a tragedy, a sad time, but I know we will pass because it is a very beautiful place.
The NFL has already canceled the Los Angeles Rams’ wild card game against Minnesota in Glendale, Arizona, making the decision a full four days before Monday night’s contest.
The LA Clippers also move into their home field in Inglewood, a short distance from the Rams’ SoFi Stadium. They are scheduled to host the Hornets on Saturday, Miami on Monday and Brooklyn on Wednesday.
It is reported by the Associated Press.
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