Zach Lowe of The Ringer took his popular basketball podcast on the road for the first time on Thursday night to Minnesota and it wasn’t without some headlines thanks to Timberwolves coach Chris Finch taking a playful shot at Lakers coach JJ Redick.
Lowe and Finch were clearly both enjoying the relaxed setting and were joking about the nature of podcasts. Lowe was talking about his extended break after being laid off from ESPN and then joining forces with The Ringer. Finch then quipped that three-quarters of the audience were going to go home and themselves do a podcast.
That’s when he couldn’t resist making a joke at the expense of JJ Redick.
Demon finch 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/JpIY1nnYBa
— Wolves Talk (@twolvestalk32) November 14, 2025
“I mean, it’ll qualify you to coach the Lakers,” Finch joked.
Of course, Chris Finch is referencing JJ Redick’s Mind the Game podcast with LeBron James that was launched before he became James’ coach with the Lakers. The podcast with James was famous for bucking the trend of focusing on drama and being a hardcore Xs and Os seminar. That wasn’t Redick’s only thing that would have qualified him to coach the Lakers, though. He was also a television analyst! In fact, Redick climbed the ladder at ESPN all the way to being on the NBA Finals broadcast team.
But during his time at ESPN, he always seemed to be a square peg trying to fit in a round hole, especially when he would become frustrated with the hot take culture of First Take and wanted to talk actual basketball instead of his frustration with Stephen A. Smith or debating the legacy of Bob Cousy with Chris Russo. Clearly he’s in a much happier place now.
But thus far in his coaching career, podcasting experience or not, JJ Redick has proven himself to be a quality coach. He has the Lakers at 8-4 leading the Pacific division even without LeBron James playing a game so far. Oh, and two of those victories have already come over Chris Finch and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Maybe Finch should try some podcasting himself to keep pace.