When the Los Angeles Lakers began their coaching search, JJ Redick quickly became the reported frontrunner due to his basketball acumen and IQ and relationship with LeBron James.
As the search went on though, the Lakers brass shifted its focus to a bigger target, trying to pry two-time defending NCAA Championship winning head coach Dan Hurley away from UConn.
While Rob Pelinka and Dan Hurley presented Hurley with a six-year, $70 million offer, he would eventually turn them down in favor of staying with the Huskies. With that being the case, the Lakers must turn back to their previous candidates like Redick and James Borrego as the search for a new coach continues.
Redick is expected to meet with the Lakers in a formal interview this weekend, which could be a bit awkward with all parties knowing he is their second choice at best after the pursuit of Hurley. Apparently that is not the case though as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is reporting that Redick is not holding the Hurley situation against the Lakers:
Pelinka and Redick have talked on the phone in recent days, and Redick understands and accepts Pelinka’s lengthy pursuit of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley that initially stalled Redick’s candidacy, sources said.
Redick has a good gig at ESPN and with his podcasts, so it was possible that he could have seen that he wasn’t the Lakers’ first choice and retracted his interest.
He has a relationship with Hurley though and obviously understands why the Lakers would target the best head coach in college basketball. Even though Redick isn’t the Lakers’ first choice, reports have indicated that they were enamored with him all along and he now has the chance to resume his status as the frontrunner if this weekend’s interview goes well.
Others like Borrego are still in the mix for the Lakers, but it definitely feels like Redick’s job to lose at this point, especially if he is willing to put the Hurley pursuit aside and maintains significant interest in L.A.
JJ Redick is betting favorite to land Lakers job
Even before it was reported that JJ Redick will interview with the Lakers and he understands and accepts their pursuit of Dan Hurley, he was the betting favorite to land the job.
Redick’s podcast with LeBron James has given insight into what a partnership with him and the Lakers would look like, and barring a significant turn in the Lakers’ search, it seems likely that the former sharpshooter will land the job.
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