The Lakers are preparing to take their coaching search to the next level. Darvin Ham‘s dismissal has left a vacancy on the Los Angeles bench that the franchise reportedly might fill in an unusual way — by hiring another first-time NBA head coach.
According to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, former player and current broadcaster J.J. Redick has become an “intriguing” candidate for the Lakers’ head coaching job — one of the most high-pressure and heavily-scrutinized positions in American sports. Even though he has no professional coaching experience, Redick brings something to the table that can help the Lakers keep superstar LeBron James next season — especially if the franchise opts not to draft LeBron‘s son Bronny this June.
Inside Redick’s surprise candidacy
Earlier in this coaching cycle — even as the playoffs continue — Redick interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets for their open head coaching position. Even though the job eventually went to Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee, Redick being under consideration demonstrated that front offices around the NBA are fascinated to hear what the 39-year-old thinks about the state of the league.
Redick can already be heard as part of ESPN’s top NBA commentary team alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke, and his podcast with LeBron, called “Mind the Game,” has already accrued more than half a million subscribers since its launch in March, showing he has tremendous cache with today’s NBA fan.
It is that friendship between James and Redick that could convince the Lakers to take a shot on the former Duke Blue Devil — although the franchise in recent years has had mixed results under first-time head coaches. The Lakers had a winning rate of under 40 percent with Luke Walton in charge between 2016 and 2019, while the Ham experiment ended after two seasons following a limp first-round playoff exit to the Denver Nuggets last month.
In addition, hiring Redick would be risky in the sense that LeBron’s NBA friendships and relationships can sour very quickly. However, with LeBron set to decline his player option and become a free agent this summer, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss may have to formulate a plan that includes some way to pacify the future Hall of Fame inductee and keep him in purple and gold for 2024/25.
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