NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has offered the latest insights into the Los Angeles Lakers’ quest to find a new head coach following the departure of Darvin Ham.
Wojnarowski revealed that former player JJ Redick and New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego are emerging as the frontrunners for the position.
In a recent episode of ESPN’s NBA Today, Wojnarowski shared details about the Lakers’ meticulous approach to the hiring process.
According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers are methodically evaluating various coaching candidates, many of whom they have not previously interviewed. Assistant coaches such as Micah Nori from Minnesota and Chris Quinn from Miami are among those being considered.
“The Lakers are going through with a lot of coaches that they don’t know very well, that they haven’t interviewed in the past,” he said. “Remember, they just did a coaching search two years ago where there’ll be some commonality in the names in this coaching search.
“So they’re bringing in assistant coaches like Micah Nori from Minnesota, Chris Quinn from Miami, James Borrego, who was a head coach in Charlotte, he was in New Orleans this year. And of course JJ Redick. I think even the initial conversation with Redick it wasn’t necessarily an interview. It was a get to know you with Rob Pelinka.”
Wojnarowski emphasized that the Lakers are prioritizing thorough discussions and getting to know potential candidates before formal interviews take place.
“The Lakers are going through stages of kind of introductory conversations and then they’ll go back and start to go deeper into with people,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s NBA Today.
The insider highlighted the absence of a clear-cut standout candidate, noting that the Lakers are taking their time to ensure they make the right choice.
“I think there are candidates feeling the Lakers out, the Lakers feeling them out. But this process is going to take a while. There’s no obvious choice. There just isn’t,” Wojnarowski added.
Wojnarowski pointed out Borrego’s familiarity with Lakers star Anthony Davis from their time together in New Orleans, suggesting that this connection could play a significant role in the decision-making process.
The Lakers are expected to proceed with caution, moving through initial discussions before delving deeper into the evaluation process.
“I think the Lakers are going through stages of kind of introductory conversations and then they’ll go back and start to go deeper into with people,” Wojnarowski said.
