According to at least one report, the Los Angeles Lakers have conducted their first round of interviews to fill their vacant head coaching position. Among the candidates they have interviewed so far are James Borrego, the New Orleans Pelicans’ associate head coach who used to be the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach, and former sharpshooter JJ Redick.
Redick had been described as the favorite to land the job by multiple people covering the NBA. However, he has virtually no coaching experience, and it was always possible the Lakers would find something undesirable during that initial interview.
But according to NBA insider Shams Charania, Redick is still the favorite to become their next head coach after interviewing.
"I'm told that last week the Lakers met with JJ Redick for an extended period of time..
He was the first person to do a face to face meeting and my sense is that he's the frontrunner for this job" ~ @ShamsCharania #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/leqeBn0mCk
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 24, 2024
“I’m told last week the Lakers met with JJ Redick in Chicago at the Draft Combine. They met for an extended period of time to really get to know him and spend time with him and he was the first candidate to really do a face-to-face meeting and then they brought in James Borrego in L.A. on Monday. Sam Cassell, David Adelman, Micah Nori, Chris Quinn is gonna get an interview as well in L.A. They’re finishing up their first round of interviews this week. Next week, I believe they’re gonna start their second phase in this process, getting more conversations with candidates, getting more basketball-centric conversations in, I think a lot of it now was surface level.
“But going into this process and right now, my sense is that JJ Redick, he is the guy around the league that everyone believes is the frontrunner for this job. He’s in position, I think there’s infatuation with JJ Redick right now just in terms of his ability for right now, but also being a coach the Lakers can have for years and years to come. That’s someone who’s young enough in the industry, young enough in the space where you feel like you have a four, five, maybe six-year runway with a guy like JJ Redick as your head coach where now you have him command the respect of a LeBron James and Anthony Davis.”
Charania also reiterated something else that has been reported: This coaching search is more about Davis, who is 31 years of age and in his prime right now, than the 39-year-old James.
