JJ Reddick has a emerged as a strong Lakers coaching candidate, sources not authorized to discuss the search publicly told The Times. (Jim Poorten / NBAE via Getty Images)
As the Lakers continued meeting with prospects in the final days of the NBA draft combine, their coaching search continued to be a strong topic of conversation among rival scouts and executives.
Internally, Lakers sources not authorized to speak publicly have tried to describe their coaching search as being a “wide-open” process, with things still in the early stages.
Following the dismissal of Darvin Ham, the team began researching a batch of candidates that included top assistants, former head coaches and, yes, broadcaster/podcaster JJ Redick.
Candidate interviews are close, but as of now, anything being discussed with certainty has been called “hypothetical” by candidates involved in the process.
Read more: Lakers newsletter: Would JJ Redick be a good fit as Lakers coach?
But despite what the Lakers are saying, many around the league view Redick is the favorite and offered varying levels of approval.
Some see Redick as a bright, analytically driven basketball mind with a top understanding of the game and excellent communication and presentation skills.
Some wonder if Redick’s business relationship with LeBron James would poison his ability to connect with the rest of the locker room, an opinion prominently voiced on television by Udonis Haslam.
Others see nothing but inexperience and view the Lakers’ job as a disaster waiting to happen for even experienced coaches, never mind someone moving from the broadcast booth to his first coaching job.
Part of what’s driving the expectation Redick will get the Lakers job is a belief that he’ll have incredibly strong interviews, according to sources discouraged from discussing personnel moves for competitive reasons.
Read more: Lakers’ next coach? Here’s a rundown of the potential candidates
The reality is, at this stage, no one can say for sure.
New Orleans assistant James Borrego does have strong support in his candidacy and has been highly valued by New Orleans staffers and executives who spoke…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/latest-lakers-intel-sources-view-231758081.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-05-16 23:17:58
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