The Los Angeles Lakers are expecting to shake up their team’s coaching hierarchy for the third time in the last six seasons. This time, the Lakers seem to be approaching their coaching hires with a long-term goal in mind, looking at a mix of candidates with differing skill levels. According to Dan Woike, the Lakers have a list of candidates ready.
Sam Cassell (Boston Celtics assistant)
Scott Brooks (Portland Trail Blazers assistant)
Jared Dudley (Dallas Mavericks assistant)
Greg St. Jean (Former Lakers assistant)
Rajon Rondo
This is an interesting group of names, with each individual bringing unique strengths to the Lakers.
Sam Cassell is a 16-year NBA veteran and has served as an assistant coach for the last 15 years. He’s worked with the Wizards, Clippers, 76ers, and is currently on Joe Mazzulla’s staff on the Celtics, who are in the NBA Finals and favorites to become champions.
Scott Brooks is a 14-year NBA veteran and the most experienced, serving as head coach of the Thunder from 2008 to 2015 and then the Wizards from 2016 to 2021 before joining the Blazers as an assistant under Chauncey Billups, where he’s worked since 2021.
Jared Dudley is a 14-year veteran, who won the 2020 NBA title on the Lakers as a player. He has worked under Jason Kidd on the Mavericks since Kidd left the Lakers to take the role in 2021. They currently hold a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals, widely expected to advance to the NBA Finals.
Greg St. Jean has been an assistant coach since 2021, working with the Mavericks for two seasons before joining Frank Vogel’s staff on the Suns last season. He was fired along with Vogel after the Suns’ Playoff exit and is a coveted assistant coach. He is a former Laker, serving as a player development coach from 2019 to 2021.
Rajon Rondo is the most interesting name, as he has no coaching experience but is widely regarded as one of the smartest minds in basketball. He was a 16-year veteran and won two titles as a player, including the 2020 triumph with the Lakers.
It is highly unlikely that this will be the exact configuration of assistant coaches on the new staff, but it does indicate the Lakers are casting a wide net into the world to see who’d be the perfect candidates to take control of a tricky Lakers situation.
The Lakers Have Held Advanced Talks With JJ Redick And James Borrego For Head Coach
All the rumored assistants can’t be finalized until the Lakers announce who their new head coach will be. Through most reports, JJ Redick seems like a lock for the position at the moment. The 15-year NBA veteran is reportedly already putting together his coaching team.
“I will be very surprised if their next Head Coach is anybody but JJ Redick,” said Chris Haynes on the Dan Patrick Show. “Everything that I’m hearing is JJ Redick. From what I know he’s doing some background, calling some assistant coaching candidates who might be able to join his staff.”
Another leading candidate is former Hornets’ head coach and current Offensive Coordinator on the Pelicans, James Borrego.
“James Borrego is meeting with the Lakers today in LA. This is his second meeting. He was the head coach in Charlotte for three years, got progressively better each year, an elite NBA offense in Charlotte, and you’ve seen the work he’s done with Zion Williamson. He’s a serious candidate in this Lakers search, but they’re going to bring in more.”
The latest on the Lakers coaching search for NBA Today, including Pelicans top assistant James Borrego meeting again with organization in LA today pic.twitter.com/OpUkSVeuRI
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 29, 2024
Wojnarowski reports that the Lakers are ‘nowhere close’ to finalizing a new head coach, so we may go a few weeks into the offseason before a decision is announced. Even with Borrego interviewing and the Lakers probably bringing in other candidates, this might be JJ Redick’s job to lose given how strongly the Lakers feel about him
Anthony Davis Is reportedly keen on James Borrego as the new Lakers head coach, according to Dan Woike.
The Lakers have reportedly held talks with Nuggets assistant David Adelman and Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as well, with Sam Cassell also previously considered among the leading candidates for the role. It’ll be interesting to see which names advance to further rounds of interviews for the Lakers, especially with the supposed guaranteed status for JJ Redick in the role.
LeBron James has said he won’t be sharing his input in the search, but hiring Redick should be something the Lakers front office will assume James will be favorable to given the pair are podcast co-hosts together. Nonetheless, the Lakers owe it to their fanbase and players to conduct an exhaustive search.
If the Lakers do go with JJ Redick, it likely will be because they think he could be the next Pat Riley. That is an extremely tall ask in the modern era of basketball, but like how Riley started his head coaching career with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, Redick has a chance to start with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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