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Leading Los Angeles Lakers Head Coaching Candidates for 2024-25 Revealed by Basketball Insider

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics
By Christian Alamodin | Last updated 5/13/24

The Los Angeles Lakers is all about winning. Failure to make a deep playoff run when you have players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis lining up every game is an unacceptable result for the top brass of one of the most storied franchises in NBA history.

This truth is what Darvin Ham had to come to terms with when the Lakers released him after their first-round exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. While some analysts may argue that one superstar should also take part of the blame, it’s understandable why Rob Pelinka and the rest of the Lakers’ hierarchy pulled the plug on Ham’s reign at the Crypto.com Arena.

Now that the Lakers are fully focused on finding the right replacement, a trusted insider talked about the names linked with one of the most unstable jobs in pro basketball regarding security.

Adrian Wojnarowski reveals the leading favorites to take over the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching job

Adrian Wojnarowski is a reliable name when it comes to insider information in and around the NBA. His insight on who are the likely replacements for Ham is telling on the Los Angeles Lakers’ thoughts on the team’s championship chances with their star players already past 30.

Per Basketball Forever’s Sam Pasfield:

“A couple of names to watch in this search. James Borrego, the top assistant in New Orleans, they went from the [ranked] 21, 22 offense in the league last year to a top 10 offense,” Woj said. “…Borrego had a good run his head coach in Charlotte went from 23 to 33 to 43 wins. He was obviously with Gregg Popovich for a long time in San Antonio. He’ll be a candidate in this process.

“Another candidate is someone who hasn’t coached, and that’s our colleague here at ESPN, J.J Redick. He is certainly somebody that the Lakers are drilling down on, they’re making calls and trying to get a sense of what a head coach, head coach J.J. Redick would look like.”

Borrego is the type of head coach hiring that would be aligned with the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship aspirations. His work with the Pelicans shows how great of an offensive mind he is that could whip up an effective offense with James and Davis at the core of it.

Meanwhile, Redick can be considered a move meant to placate LeBron. James is currently working on a popular basketball podcast with the retired sharpshooter, and Redick used the platform to showcase his impressive intelligence in the game’s X’s and O’s.

Whoever the Los Angeles Lakers decide to hire in the offseason will be a telling sign on where the organization is headed in the coming years. Fans hope that the team choose the right person for the organization that would allow them to succeed even if LeBron decides to call it a career in the summer.

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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