There have been a number of names linked to the Los Angeles Lakers as candidates to be their next head coach. It has been reported that JJ Redick, Sam Cassell and James Borrego are the early leading candidates to land the job, but of course there is plenty of time for that to change, especially as the interview process is only just beginning.
Whoever is hired has a difficult task ahead of them, not only leading the franchise during the end of this current era, but also going forward after LeBron James retires with Anthony Davis taking on the lead role as face of the franchise. And one candidate might have the edge in that regard.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” Davis’ previous relationship with Borrego could play a factor as the team considers him for their head coach position:
“I think when you’re the Lakers, you have to look into the future. Anthony Davis is someone that’s gonna outlast likely LeBron James as a Laker, he’s 31-years-old in the prime of his career, and how do you make a hire that potentially does fit AD better, involving him in the coaching search process? And he has built a rapport with James Borrego, they overlapped a little bit in New Orleans.
“But when you look at James Borrego, Sam Cassell, they obviously have experience as either long-time assistants and for James Borrego, he has been a head coach before as well. So there is a difference to being a first-time head coach and someone that’s been in that seat before.”
Borrego was an assistant on the then-New Orleans Hornets when they drafted Davis first overall in 2012 with the two able to form a brief relationship before the former eventually left to join the Orlando Magic as an assistant. Whether that is enough to give him a bit of an edge is unclear, but there are certainly other factors at play as well.
Of those early favored candidates Borrego is the only one with prior head coaching experience and he had success with the Charlotte Hornets that the franchise has yet to replicate since they fired him.
Whether he is the right man for the Lakers job is unclear, but getting the best out of Davis for years to come should be strongly considered as the franchise goes through all of the candidates in this process.
Anthony Davis’ frustration with Darvin Ham played role in Lakers firing him
Getting the most out of Anthony Davis was something that many feel the Darvin Ham failed to do in his time as Lakers head coach. One of those who felt that way may have been Davis himself.
A recent report noted that one of the factors that went into the Lakers moving on from Ham was that Davis was frustrated and no longer on board with him. Unfortunately for Ham, a head coach is rarely going to win that battle if the star players no longer want them there.
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