JJ Redick has never been a head coach of a professional team. At 39 years old, his greatest experience in a dugout has been coaching young players in training. However, he is the great favorite to take charge of the Lakers, the most recognizable team in the world.

Shams Charania, journalist of ‘The Athletic’, assures that he is the best positioned to take over the helm of the Los Angeles team ahead of James Borrego, a coach with much more experience, as he has been assistant or first coach in the Spurs, the Pelicans, the Hornets and the Magic.

Redick had a long NBA career between 2006 and 2021, playing 940 games with the Magic, Bucks, Clippers, Sixers, Pelicans and Mavericks. He averaged 12.8 points and his best quality was his outside shooting, averaging 41.5% in three-pointers during his career in the League. After his retirement he became one of the most reputable analysts and works for ESPN.

This is not the first time Redick’s name has been mentioned for an NBA bench. In addition to the Lakers, in recent months he has interviewed with the Hornets, who were looking for a replacement for Steve Clifford, although they finally opted for Celtics assistant Charles Lee. In 2023, the Raptors also reportedly would have felt out the possibility of giving the former player his first shot at a franchise.

A podcast with LeBron

LeBron James’ opinion carries weight in the decision to go with Redick. Although the small forward has the option to opt out of his contract with the Lakers this summer, he has enormous influence on the franchise and it turns out his relationship with the potential coach is extraordinary. In fact, they have a podcast together called ‘Mind the game’.

In their quest for information on Redick, the Lakers have also interviewed Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had him as a player for four seasons. For their bench, the Lakers also considered Celtics assistant Sam Cassell; Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori; Nuggets assistant David Adelman; and Heat assistant Chris Quinn.