Back in 2004, the Los Angeles Lakers were looking for a new head coach to lead a new era in the franchise behind Kobe Bryant. After parting ways with Phil Jackson, the franchise made a big offer to legendary Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski, a favorite of Kobe’s, but Coach K would ultimately turn it down.
Despite that, there has always remained a level of respect between Krzyzewski and the Lakers organization as a whole that has continued from the late, great Dr. Jerry Buss down to current owner Jeanie Buss. And with the Lakers in the midst of a search for a new head coach, the franchise has apparently turned to Coach K for a little help.
According to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Krzyzewski has been a resource for the Lakers due to his knowledge of certain candidates:
Multiple sources briefed on the matter say one person who has become a respected unofficial resource for the Lakers during the process is legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose deep knowledge for candidates, such as Redick and others, provides a lens into the culture the organization wants and the characteristics of a potential staff around the next head coach. Krzyzewski’s history with the Lakers goes back to 2004 when Dr. Jerry Buss made a strong yet unsuccessful offer to hire Coach K.
Many teams lean on people not within the organization in something of an unofficial advisory role, so the Lakers turning to Krzyzewski in this situation is nothing unusual. As was noted, he has plenty of knowledge about certain candidates, which can be useful. That is especially the case for someone like JJ Redick, who has emerged as one of the leading candidates, but has no head coaching experience. Reddick, of course, played for Krzyzewski at Duke.
The Lakers absolutely have to get this hire right, not only for the immediate but also the future of this franchise. So learning everything they possibly can about any potential hire is a necessity and Coach K is a resource they have at their disposal in this case.
JJ Redick, Sam Cassell, James Borrego ‘leading targets’ for Lakers head coach job
It is known that the Lakers are intrigued by the possibility of JJ Redick as a head coach, but there are other names who are apparently ahead of the pack at this early stage of the search.
The latest report stated that Redick, New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego and Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell are the early ‘leading targets’ for the Lakers in their head coaching search. But there will be many others interviewed along the way as well so things could very well change.
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