An ESPN analyst is among the candidates for the Los Angeles Lakers head coach vacancy.
Former coach Darvin Ham left after the Denver Nuggets defeated the Lakers 4-1 in the Western Conference playoffs.
3
And ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski says one of his colleagues is in the mix.
“Rob Pelinka [and] the Lakers front office – they will be in Chicago for the league’s combine draft,’ Wojnarowski said on NBA countdown.
“You hope they start asking permission to talk to coaches around the league, assistants.
“But there is one name the Lakers have been investigating in their initial search here: JJ Redick, our colleague at ESPN.
“He’s certainly someone the Lakers are intrigued by.
“They have been making a lot of calls to try to find out more about him.
“But expect this to be a large and time-consuming search.”
Redick retired three years ago after a 15-season NBA career.
Orlando Magic drafted him with the 11th pick in 2006 and he spent seven years in Florida.
The former guard also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks.
Redick never coached, but demonstrated a deep knowledge of the game in his time at ESPN.
He also created the Mind The Game podcast with Lakers star LeBron James.
Following the Game 5 loss to Denver, James was non-committal on whether or not he plans to return to the Lakers next season, simply saying “I don’t have an answer.”
He later folded this into X, where he said: “I saw, I heard many reports about my future.
“I said it last night and I will say it again. I don’t know yet, as I’m just thinking about spending time with my family and friends!
Time for LeBron to retire?
“At the end of the day, I hate to say it, but I believe it in my soul right now: I wish LeBron James would retire.
“Not because I don’t want to see more LeBron James, not because I don’t appreciate LeBron James.
“But I honestly believe that deep down, the longer LeBron James continues to play basketball, the more it will hurt his legacy and the more it will continue to hurt his GOAT argument.
“As long as he steps on that floor, every season, there will be expectations that he will win a championship.
“And when he doesn’t, we’ll be looking at him and saying, ‘Well, what happened now?’”
ESPN star Kendrick Perkins speaking on First Take about LeBron James’ future in the NBA
“When I know, after speaking to the family, my advice and also my representation on this, you will know.”
If the Lakers want to keep James for another season, it will likely require the franchise to be willing to listen to his opinion.
“Committing to the King means committing to the entire LeBron James experience, including a potentially hand-picked replacement for Ham,” he said. Bleacher report.
No coach has lasted more than three seasons in Los Angeles since Phil Jackson held the position from 1999-2011.
Kenny Atkinson, David Adelman, James Borrego and Micah Nori are also believed to be in the mix.
3
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
