Conflicting reports emerge on Lakers' next head coach

There's reportedly no guarantee the Lakers will hire JJ Redick as their next head coach.

After insiders such as Marc Stein and Chris Haynes anointed the retired NBA sharpshooter as the front-runner for the high-profile job, Adrian Wojnarowski seemingly poured cold water on those claims during the latest episode of "NBA Today" on ESPN.

Woj reported Wednesday that the Lakers were "nowhere close" to finalizing Darvin Ham's successor, and were committed to a lengthy process of interviewing a long list of candidates. 

The insider further reported that Pelicans assistant James Borrego met with Lakers brass for a second interview on Wednesday. 

"He's a very serious candidate," Woj said of Borrego. "But they're gonna bring in more. Over the next few weeks, you're going to see more candidates come back in as they dig a little deeper with the Lakers on this head coaching job."

When the Lakers began their coaching search, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was tipped as their "dream" candidate even as Lue expressed his desire to remain with the crosstown rivals. 

On Wednesday, reports surfaced of Lue and the Clippers agreeing to a new long-term contract extension, rendering him unavailable for the Lakers' head-coaching vacancy. 

Besides Borrego and Redick, Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, Nuggets assistant David Adelman and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori are on the Lakers' shortlist, per ESPN sources.

The Lakers are expected to finalize their next head coach before the June 26-27 NBA Draft. Typically, NBA franchises are known to heed the coaching staff's input on draft selections and free-agency decisions.