The Los Angeles Lakers are once again on the hunt for a new head coach.
After cutting ties with Frank Vogel, the Lakers landed on Darvin Ham to take over. All it took was one early playoff exit for Ham to find himself fired from LA. Now, the Lakers are back in the market for a head coach, and a former Philadelphia 76ers player is reportedly in the hunt.
According to The Athletic’s Shama Charania, the Lakers are interested in a handful of candidates, with the prospect pool including JJ Redick.
Recently, Redick’s been linked to another head coaching job with the Charlotte Hornets.
Just two years removed from his final season as an NBA player, Redick hasn’t taken on a coaching job just yet. He started garnering interest as a potential coaching candidate as early as last season. However, Redick has taken the analyst route for the time being.
Teams’ interest in Redick doesn’t come as a surprise. The former 11th overall pick out of Duke has been around the NBA since 2006, and has established himself as a great basketball mind, with a solid locker room presence.
In 2017, after stints with the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Clippers, Redick joined an up-and-coming Sixers team just as they started battling in the NBA Playoffs after a long drought.
After two seasons in Philly Redick moved on to the New Orleans Pelicans. Amidst his second season with the Pelicans, Redick was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. He called it a career after the 2020-2021 season with the Mavs.
Soon, Redick could be back with a team in a different role. It appears that he’s potentially a favorite for the Charlotte job. As for the LA vacancy, they are still very early in the process.
According to Charania, the Lakers will consider veterans Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, and Ty Lue if the LA Clippers move on. While the Lakers’ list extends beyond that, the rest of the prospects are currently unnamed.
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