A pair of reports suggest that the Los Angeles Lakers are very high on three particular head coach candidates and an icon of college basketball is among the team helping to find the next person to lead their bench.
Heading into the NBA games today the Lakers are over a week into plotting out their goals for the offseason. However, at the top of the list is finding another new head coach. Despite winning four more games than they did last season, the organization dismissed head coach Darvin Ham after two seasons and a first-round ouster from the playoffs in April.
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There have been rumblings about the potential candidates for the opening but according to The Athletic NBA insiders Shams Charania and Jovan Buha, JJ Redick, James Borrego, and Sam Cassell have emerged as the early favorites and top targets in their search for a new head coach.
Redick is a former player who has increased his profile around the league via his analyst work for ESPN and a burgeoning podcast career. Borrego was a long-time assistant before landing the top job with the Charlotte Hornets in 2019. He was fired after the 2021-2022 season. Cassell is a one-time All-Star who has been an assistant for the Wizards, Clippers, 76ers, and Celtics over the last 14 years.
Mike Krzyzewski serving as a consultant in the Los Angeles Lakers head coach search
Along with the news on who are the leading contenders for the Los Angeles Lakers head coach job, The Athletic reporters also revealed an interesting bit of news about an unexpected but “respected unofficial resource” in the search to fill the opening.
“Multiple sources briefed on the matter said one person who has become a respected unofficial resource for the Lakers during the process is legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose deep knowledge of 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,” The Athletic reports.
“Krzyzewski’s history with the Lakers goes back to 2004 when Dr. Jerry Buss made a strong yet unsuccessful offer to hire Coach K.”