According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Sam Cassell and James Borrego could be prime targets for JJ Redick’s staff on the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers are expected to try to bring Jared Dudley back as well.
“More smoke to support the idea that ESPN’s JJ Redick is indeed the leading candidate to land the Lakers’ head coaching job: Rumbles about possible staff targets for Redick have already begun to circulate,” Stein wrote. “League sources say fellow Lakers search candidates Sam Cassell (Boston) and James Borrego (New Orleans) would be prime targets for Redick’s staff as well as an expected run at trying to bring Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley back to Lakerland. As a Lakers player for the final two seasons of his career in 2019-20 and 2020-21, Dudley had strong relationships with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.”
Redick and Lakers star LeBron James co-host a podcast together. It would surprise many people in the NBA if Los Angeles didn’t hire Redick.
According to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers are “infatuated” with Redick’s potential.
The Lakers, who have held formal meetings with Redick, Borrego and Cassell, view Redick as a Pat Riley-like coaching prospect.
“Leaguewide, Redick — a former player and media analyst — has garnered buzz for the position,” Buha and Charania wrote. “The Lakers are infatuated with Redick’s potential, according to league sources, viewing him as a Pat Riley-like coaching prospect who could both help the franchise in the short term and lead it for years. Riley, a nine-year NBA veteran as a player, was a broadcaster for the Lakers from 1977 to 1979 before making the leap to assistant coach in 1979 and then eventually head coach in 1981.”
The Lakers fired Darvin Ham as their head coach after two seasons. Ham went 90-74 in the regular season and 9-12 in the playoffs.
The Lakers went 47-35 this season. They lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs in five games.
Denver also eliminated Los Angeles in the 2023 Western Conference Finals in four games.
LeBron is staying out of the Lakers’ coaching search. The leading scorer in NBA history can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason by declining his 2024-25 player option worth $51.4 million.
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