Report: Lakers Expected To Hire JJ Redick As Head Coach

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to hire JJ Redick as their new head coach. 

Redick and Lakers superstar LeBron James co-host the “Mind The Game” podcast. 

“I will be very surprised if their next Head Coach is anybody but JJ Redick. 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.”

–@ChrisBHaynes on #Lakers next HC pic.twitter.com/XipwSlN6wo

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 29, 2024

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Sam Cassell and James Borrego could be prime targets for Redick’s staff on the Lakers.  

Los Angeles could target Jared Dudley too. 

“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.”

The Lakers went 47-35 this season. They lost to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs in five games.

Los Angeles fired Darvin Ham after two seasons. Ham went 90-74 in the regular season and 9-12 in the postseason.

According to NBA reporters 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.”

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. He’s expected to remain with the Lakers.