The Lakers find themselves in a similar position again in conducting a head coach search and have circled back to a name that’s been on the list for some time.
On Saturday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said his colleague JJ Redick has caught the team’s attention as their search ramps up.
“Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ front office, they’ll be in Chicago for the league’s draft combine,” Wojnarowski said. “You expect them to start calling for permission to talk to coaches around the league, assistants.
“But one name that the Lakers have been drilling down on in their initial research here: JJ Redick, our colleague at ESPN. He is certainly somebody that the Lakers are intrigued with. They’ve been making a lot of calls to try to learn more about him. But expect this to be a wide ranging and lengthy search.”
Redick, 39, doesn’t have any coaching experience.
Though he only finished his playing days three years ago, he has established himself well within the media industry through podcasting and as an ESPN analyst alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke.
Redick started his 15-year NBA career with the Magic after he was selected No. 11 overall in the 2006 NBA Draft out of Duke. He spent the longest time in Orlando — seven seasons.
He also played for the Clippers, 76ers, Pelicans, and concluded his career with Mavericks for only one season. Redick was placed in the top 20 for Most Improved Player in 2010 and for Sixth Man of the Year in 2011 and 2013.
Redick has a career average of 12.8 points on 44.7 percent shooting.
Other candidates the Lakers are considering are Kenny Atkinson, David Adelman, James Borrego, and Micah Nori.
The Lakers have had a difficult time finding a long-standing coach, as no one has lasted longer than three seasons since Phil Jackson was at the helm from 1999-2011 and led the franchise to five NBA Finals titles.
Darvin Ham only last two seasons and his tenure was cut after their first-round playoff loss to the defending champion Nuggets.