Despite reports that JJ Redick is their man, the Los Angeles Lakers are “nowhere close” to hiring the next head coach, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Instead, they are casting a wide net and have just begun the interview process. Former Charlotte Hornets coach and current New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego was brought in to speak with GM Rob Pelinka and others on Wednesday.
Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Dallas Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney and Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman are among the many others linked to the job.
“The Lakers are starting to bring in candidates for longer, in-depth interviews,” Wojnarowski said on NBA Today. “They had a series of kind of get-to-know-you interviews with people they didn’t know as well.”
Woj then brought up the name of Borrego.
“He’s a very serious candidate in this Lakers search, but they’re going to bring in more,” Wojnarowski said. “Over the next few weeks I think you’re gonna see more candidates come back in (as the Lakers) dig a little deeper.
“They’re nowhere close on this one.”
The Lakers went 47-35 this season, losing to the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs in five games.
They then fired Darvin Ham after two seasons. Ham went 90-74 in the regular season and 9-12 in the playoffs.
According to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers are “infatuated” with Redick’s potential, viewing the former guard 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.”
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