The Lakers cast a wide net in the first round of their coaching search, with general manager Rob Pelinka reportedly sitting down and meeting with an experienced head coach in James Borrego, a top assistant is Sam Cassell, and popular player-turned-broadcaster J.J. Redick who has zero coaching experience but wants back into the game.
All that according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who said Pelinka is formally starting to meet with the mentioned candidates, with more names to come.
Lakers have begun meetings to discuss head coaching job, interviewing JJ Redick, New Orleans’ James Borrego and Boston’s Sam Cassell, sources tell me and @jovanbuha. More interviews to come as part of thorough search.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 21, 2024
The latest at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/A6Fh7LuEFL
There are no surprises on that list, and Charania reports the Lakers also plan to meet with Team officials plan to meet Nuggets assistant David Adelman, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and Heat assistant Chris Quinn. This is what the Lakers should do, meet with a lot of potential candidates and get a feel for who best fits what they are seeking.
That said, there is a lot of buzz the Lakers like the idea of Redick, whether that translates to him getting the job remains to be seen.
One interesting note — and for my money, a smokescreen — also comes from Charania on the show “Run It Back,” saying LeBron James is hands-off with the coaching search.
"I'm told LeBron James is not involved in the Lakers head coaching search...James has made it clear that this is the organization's decision, he's had no conversions with the Lakers about JJ Redick."@ShamsCharania on the #Lakers coaching search pic.twitter.com/4YbscRYII7
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 20, 2024
So LeBron is just running around watching his sons play basketball like a good father, and Pelinka and the Lakers front office, all on their own, have come to lean into his podcast partner who has zero coaching experience may be the best guy to take over a win-now Lakers team trying to maximize the last few years of LeBron on the court? That’s a lot to swallow.
Do I think LeBron is hands-on in this coaching search? Absolutely not. But he can be a free agent this summer — he has a $54.1 million player option — and the Lakers will offer him whatever terms he wants to return, so the Lakers are trying to pick someone who pleases him. LeBron has, at the very least, the emperor’s thumbs up/thumbs down on the hire — if it’s someone he doesn’t want, the Lakers are not hiring that guy.
The Lakers are also trying to please Anthony Davis with this hire as he is the Lakers star still in his prime and the team wants to transition to his era. Davis will have some say (and maybe he likes Redick). Plus, the Lakers want someone who can command the locker room, is an Xs and Os artisan and grinder, and can develop young talent. That’s a lot and much of it (like player development) is organizational, beyond just the coach.
Redick might be a great coach. He could be the next Steve Kerr — or Pat Riley, to use the Lakers’ analogy. Or maybe he’s the next Steve Nash. Nobody knows until he does the job. If the Lakers surround him with strong, experienced assistants who have been in the big chair before, he has a chance.
But let’s not pretend this is somehow independent of the Lakers superstars and the front office trying to make them happy.
