The Los Angeles Lakers are still in the hunt to find a head coach after firing Darvin Ham earlier in the spring. By now, it’s widely known that Dan Hurley turned down the Lakers’ job to remain at UConn.
This has general manager Rob Pelinka and Co. back at the drawing board with just a week to go before the 2024 NBA Draft. It’s certainly not a great position to be in after a first-round exit in the NBA Playoffs and with so many questions on the roster.
After Hurley turned the Lakers down, rumors suggested that media personality and former NBA player JJ Redick is the front runner to land the job. He met with them recently and was seen as the favorite before Hurley’s name emerged.
Los Angeles now might have some competition for Redick’s services after the Detroit Pistons surprisingly fired head coach Monty Williams earlier on Wednesday.
“James Borrego could be a name to watch as well as Redick,” Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports reported. “Redick is currently a prime candidate for the Lakers job, so it isn’t known how much traction Detroit could actually gain.”
Indirectly, new Pistons front office head Trajan Langdon and Redick do have a Duke connection. Langdon played for the Blue Devils from 1995-99 while Redick played in Durham from 2003-06.
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Could the Los Angeles Lakers actually lose out on JJ Redick?
It’s seemingly a real possibility. It was reported earlier in the process that some candidates view the Cleveland Cavaliers’ situation better than what the Lakers have to offer as they search for a new head coach.
Detroit is coming off an ugly 14-68 season. But it does have some key young building blocks in the likes of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren.
For Los Angeles, there are seemingly a ton of question marks. LeBron James will opt out of his contract this summer. While he’s likely to return, how much power would a new head coach be giving up to King James?
The pressure is also going to be much more real in Los Angeles than Detroit. That could be a determining factor for a candidate in Redick who has zero coaching experience.
Related: Top candidates to replace Monty Williams as Detroit Pistons head coach