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Former NBA shooting guard and current ESPN analyst JJ Redick is currently the frontrunner to be the Los Angeles Lakers’ next head coach, but the two sides have not struck an official deal as of yet.
Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported that news on the Pat McAfee Show Tuesday and added that Redick was “very impressive” in his meetings with team brass.
“There isn’t an agreement as far as I know between the Lakers and JJ Redick right now..
He went into LA on Saturday and had meetings with the Lakers brass..
I’m told that the meetings were very impressive and he’s still the frontrunner to be the Lakers Head Coach” ~… pic.twitter.com/KbQsS85KxM
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 18, 2024
The Lakers have apparently turned to Redick as the team’s top choice after being turned down by UConn head coach Dan Hurley, who reportedly had a six-year, $70 million deal on the table, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.’
Charania previously reported on June 4 that Redick was the frontrunner.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are zeroing in on JJ Redick as the front-runner to be the franchise’s next head coach, league and media industry sources told The Athletic,” Charania wrote.
“No final decision has been made yet, and the Lakers still have steps remaining in their head-coaching search process, league sources said. But the indications are strong that Redick is their leading choice at this stage.”
However, Hurley then emerged as the No. 1 candidate, even visiting in person with the Lakers in L.A. He ultimately decided against the gig, making the announcement last Monday that he’s staying at UConn.
Redick, who notably has a podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James, appears to be the clear leader for the gig, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an official announcement on that front.
If it’s not Redick, then the next logical candidate might be New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego, who Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer called a “leading candidate” for the job soon after Hurley turned down the position.