As the early days of the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason go by, there seems to be an increasing chance that they will end up hiring JJ Redick as their next head coach. Several reports from media insiders have indicated that Redick, at the very least, is a strong frontrunner to land the job.
While Redick seems to possess plenty of basketball knowledge, he has virtually no experience as either a head coach or an assistant. That, along with the fact that he is LeBron James’ co-host on the “Mind the Game” podcast, has caused some to be skeptical about his potential hiring.
Another man the Lakers have interviewed is New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, who was the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach for four seasons. According to Marc Stein, Anthony Davis may prefer Borrego over Redick as his next head coach.
Via Marc Stein Sunstack:
“It has been suggested in some corners of the league that Lakers star big man Anthony Davis probably prefers for James Borrego to get the job over Redick. Not only has Borrego been a head coach twice already in Orlando and Charlotte compared to Redick’s lack of head coaching experience, but he and Davis overlapped briefly during Borrego’s first stint with the Pelicans after Davis was drafted No. 1 overall in June 2012.”
If Redick does get hired to be the Lakers’ head coach, Borrego could end up being one of his assistants. Borrego, along with Rajon Rondo, Jared Dudley, Scott Brooks and Greg St. Jean, have been named as potential assistants for Los Angeles.