After the Los Angeles Lakers were rejected by UConn’s Dan Hurley for their head coaching position, it has seemed like only a matter of time before the job went to ESPN analyst JJ Redick.
Redick was the early frontrunner in the Lakers’ search before the attention shifted to Hurley. While being a second option is never ideal, Redick was said to understand and accept the Lakers’ pursuit of Hurley, still following through with his interview this past weekend.
The Lakers haven’t had the option of putting pen to paper on a Redick hire until now with him making it clear that his focus was on calling the NBA Finals for ESPN.
Now that the series between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks is over though, things should pick up quickly in negotiations between him and the Lakers. In fact, Jay Williams may have spilled the beans on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday morning that Redick will be L.A.’s next head coach:
Did Jay Williams spill the beans about JJ Redick and the Lakers? @LakersNation @RyanWardLA pic.twitter.com/Rs1AYWlZXj
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) June 18, 2024
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise as Redick is the only candidate to interview with the Lakers since they were rejected by Hurley.
Others like James Borrego and Sam Cassell have been in the mix, but it has been Redick’s job to lose all along and it now appears that L.A.’s search is over.
The Lakers are taking a gamble here by hiring Redick, who has never coached before at any level other than his young children’s youth games. He, of course, has a great relationship with Lakers star LeBron James though with them starting a podcast together earlier this year, which should help him earn the respect a head coach needs from his players.
L.A. is in the business of winning championships, especially now that the Celtics have passed them by winning their 18th, so the pressure will be on Redick from the jump to help them achieve that goal.
Jason Kidd believes JJ Redick would be great hire for Lakers
One person who recently went to bat for JJ Redick in the Lakers’ coaching search is Jason Kidd, the current head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
Kidd is familiar with Redick and also knows the Lakers organization well, and he believes it would be a solid match for both sides. Time will tell if that’s how it plays out, but it definitely appears as if Redick will get the job.
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