Lakers coaching search: All signs continue to point to JJ Redick, who is already building a staff, per reports

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Clippers announced a five-year contract extension with head coach Ty Lue. The move wasn’t especially surprising, as it had reportedly been in the works for weeks, but it guaranteed that perhaps the one truly proven commodity that the Los Angeles Lakers were interested in to replace Darvin Ham is officially and unequivocally off of the market. Of course, that never meant that Lue was likely. No reports suggested he was ever seriously available, while virtually every report has hinted at the same thing: ESPN broadcaster JJ Redick is very likely to be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes was about as firm on that as he could’ve been on Wednesday’s edition of The Dan Patrick Show. “I will be very surprised if their next head coach is anybody but JJ Redick,” Haynes said. “Everything that I’m hearing is JJ Redick. From what I know he’s doing some background, calling some assistant coaching candidates who might be able to join his staff.”

Marc Stein has also reported on Redick seeking out possible assistants for the Laker job already. He named Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, Pelicans assistant James Borrego and Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley as candidates to watch for Redick’s possible staff. Cassell and Borrego are both candidates for the head coaching job, and Dan Woike of the LA Times reported that Borrego would interview in person on Wednesday, but the Lakers have a history of interviewing head coaching candidates and eventually hiring them as assistants. This was how they landed Jason Kidd in 2019, for instance. Dudley, a former Lakers player and beloved locker room figure, followed Kidd to Dallas in 2021. Once reporting starts to leak about a candidate already trying to fill out his staff, it begins to feel fairly likely that he will eventually get the job.

The main question at this point relates to timing. The Lakers have taken their time during this search, and that would also seem to hint toward Redick as the choice. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on the Rich Eisen Show…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lakers-coaching-search-all-signs-continue-to-point-to-jj-redick-who-is-already-building-a-staff-per-reports/

Author : Sam Quinn

Publish date : 2024-05-29 19:23:13

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