JJ Redick had been rumored as a candidate to become the next Los Angeles Lakers head coach even before the team parted ways with Darvin Ham.
Now that the Lakers have fired Ham, Redick has emerged as a serious contender, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
The NBA insider appeared on ABC’s NBA Countdown Saturday and shared updates on the Lakers’ search, saying the team is reportedly “intrigued” by Redick.
“Their search is going to ramp up this week,” Wojnarowski said. “One name that the Lakers have been drilling down on in their initial research here: JJ Redick, our colleague at ESPN. He is certainly somebody that the Lakers are intrigued with. They’ve been making a lot of calls to try to learn more about him. But expect this to be a wide-ranging and a lengthy search.”
“One name that the Lakers have been drilling down on in their initial research here: JJ Redick, our colleague at ESPN. He is certainly somebody that the Lakers are intrigued with.” – @wojespn 👀 pic.twitter.com/CChlnokWxY
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 11, 2024
Redick already has one key factor working in his favor as a Lakers candidate — he has a close relationship with LeBron James. The pair launched a podcast together in March, Mind the Game, which already has 575,000 subscribers.
While the former NBA star is carving out a successful media career as an ESPN analyst and podcaster, he’s expressed interest in coaching. Redick reportedly interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets for their coaching vacancy last month, although the team hired another candidate, Charles Lee, this week.
[@awfulannouncing]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.