Duke Basketball Legend Interviews to Become NBA Head Coach

Former Duke basketball sharpshooter JJ Redick has an interest in a new job.

JJ Redick seems happily suited for his role as a regular on ESPN First Take while also hosting The Old Man & the Three podcast. Even so, Duke basketball's all-time leading scorer (2,769 points), who played 15 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2021, appears open to a new gig.

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He's expressed interest in pursuing a coaching career in the past.

And on Wednesday afternoon, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the 38-year-old interviewed for the Toronto Raptors head-coaching vacancy. According to Wojnarowski, Redick is among the first round of candidates for the position, which became open when the franchise parted ways with Nick Nurse three weeks ago.

Fifteen-year NBA veteran and ESPN analyst JJ Redick has interviewed for the Toronto Raptors’ coaching job, sources tell ESPN. Redick was part of a first-round of candidates to meet with franchise leadership.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 10, 2023

Although JJ Redick was a notable leader in the locker room for the New Orleans Pelicans during the last few years of his playing career, his only documented experience as a head coach at any level is his ongoing stint at the helm of his 8-year-old son's youth basketball team.

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Currently, the Raptors boast one Duke basketball product in Gary Trent Jr., a 24-year-old guard who tallied a career-high 17.4 points per game last season for a Toronto squad that finished 41-41 and saw its campaign end in the Play-In Tournament.

However, as All Raptors' Aaron Rose recently noted, "Trent is heading into unrestricted free agency assuming he opts out of his $18.8 million contract for next season." Rose and others expect Trent won't be on Toronto's 2023-24 roster.

Meanwhile, the Raptors are likely considering a long list of names in their search for a head coach, so there's no telling if the JJ Redick talks will intensify. Another prime candidate is Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin, the father of recent Duke basketball one-and-done AJ Griffin, now a forward with the Atlanta Hawks.

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