After all of the rumors, JJ Redick is set to travel to LA as the franchise’s search for a coach continues, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
“JJ Redick will formally interview for the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching job this weekend, and a strong performance is expected to move him to the forefront of the franchise’s search, sources told ESPN,” Woj said.
“Redick, an ESPN NBA analyst who played 15 years in the league, had a 90-plus-minute visit with Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka last month at the Chicago draft combine. Now, a trip to Los Angeles will go far deeper into detail on the job and the meetings will include Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, sources said.”
The Lakers were left a little embarrassed after the team offered UConn coach Dan Hurley more than double his college salary to take the top job, which he rejected this week.
LA’s other reported leading candidate, Pelicans assistant James Borrego, looks as though he is shoring up a deal with the Cavaliers.
Although it would seem there is a rush to secure a coach, some members of the Lakers don’t think it’s an ‘absolute necessity’ to have a coach in place by the NBA draft, according to LA Times‘ Dan Woike.
“While having a coach in place by the draft is ideal, it’s not viewed as an absolute necessity by some inside the Lakers’ organization,” Woike said. “The team is facing major decisions this summer with its roster, beginning on draft night when the team could combine the No. 17 pick with first- rounders in 2029 and 2031 in a trade.”
Though, Woike affirmed that Redick and Borrego aren’t the only names being floated by the Lakers brass.
“Still, people with knowledge inside the building maintain that the Lakers’ search isn’t limited to just Redick and Borrego and, if necessary, more interviews could be forthcoming,” he said.