The Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with Darvin Ham in early May after the Denver Nuggets eliminated them from the playoffs for the second straight season. The franchise has launched a thorough coaching search since to identify Ham’s replacement, but there have been conflicting reports in recent days — from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletics’ Shams Charania — regarding who might be the next man up in Los Angeles. Charania, citing league and industry sources, reported on Tuesday that the Lakers were “zeroing in” on longtime NBA veteran JJ Redick as the front-runner to become the franchise’s next head coach.
He did clarify that no decision had been made yet, and that the team still had steps remaining in their search but wrote that Los Angeles has been “infatuated” with Redick’s potential and views him as a candidate who checks multiple boxes in terms of what the team is looking for in its next head coach. Mike Krzyzewski, Redick’s former college coach at Duke, has reportedly acted as unofficial resource for the Lakers during the team’s search. He obviously has more insight into Redick’s nature than most, on and off the court.
Redick also hosts a podcast called “Mind the Game” with franchise cornerstone LeBron James , which has led some to believe that their relationship is why Los Angeles views him so fondly, although Charania has reported that James has distanced himself from the team’s decision. Here is where the mass confusion sets .
