Lakers News: 3 Candidates Emerge as ‘Lead Targets’ for LA’s Head Coaching Gig

Three prospects emerge as early targets for the Lakers' open head coaching job.

Jan 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at center court at the / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers' search for a new head coach has taken a significant turn, with three potential candidates emerging as the early top targets. Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports that JJ Redick, James Borrego, and Sam Cassell have stepped into the spotlight as the initial leading candidates for the purple and gold. 

Two of the three candidates are more than qualified to become the next head coach in Borrego and Cassell. 

Borrego has coached the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets, leading them to a 148-183 record. The 46-year-old spent the 2023-24 season with the New Orleans Pelicans on Willie Green's staff and oversaw the offense. The New Mexico native started his coaching career 24 years ago as an assistant for San Diego University. Following his stint there, he joined the San Antonio Spurs from 2003-10 and won two NBA titles as the assistant in 2005 and 2007. 

As for Cassell, he's another long-time assistant and former NBA player. The former player turned assistant coach started his coaching career after retiring following the 2008-09 season with the Boston Celtics. He immediately headed to the bench and has been there since. He started with the Washington Wizards, then joined Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2014-20, joined Rivers once again in Philadelphia from 2020-23, and is back with the Celtics as an assistant for Joe Mazzulla. Although he's never had a head coaching job, he's been around the game for a long time and has been surrounded by brilliant coaching minds in the past 15 years as an assistant. 

The least experienced candidate and possibly the favorite to land the job now is JJ Redick, a 15-year NBA veteran. Redick's only coaching experience is at the youth level, coaching his sons. Although he is the least qualified, there's no doubt about his IQ when it comes to the game of basketball. Those who follow the game closely have heard his brilliance on ESPN broadcasts and his podcasts, The Old Man and the Three and Mind the Game Pod with Lakers superstar LeBron James. 

The hope for this next Lakers head coach, whether one of these three or someone else, is that they will lead this James-Anthony Davis duo for likely two seasons and beyond the post-James era. The Lakers have had seven head coaches since Phil Jackson's departure in 2011. 

L.A. does not want to look for another head coach in the next two or three seasons. They don't have to hit the nail on the coffin, but they absolutely cannot botch it.  

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