Lakers News: Brian Windhorst Reveals When LA Could Hire JJ Redick

The 15-year NBA sharpshooter seems poised to take the head coaching leap.

Apr 1, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard JJ Redick (4) takes the ball past Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) in the second half of the game at Staples Center. Clippers won 115-104. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

It appears that former 15-year NBA shooting guard JJ Redick, who's emerged as a media force in the podcast and broadcast spaces since retiring in 2021, is at least one of the top prospects angling for the Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching gig. L.A. team president is looking to hire its fourth head coach since 2017. Team president Rob Pelinka has had a quick hook for his coaches, and at some point soon, one expects he'll need to start looking inward to unravel the true source of the team's struggles on the hardwood of late.

To be fair, given the competition level in the Western Conference, the aging Lakers have had a respectable few years. L.A. made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2023, and won 47 contests this season before being quickly vanquished in the first round of the playoffs. This result prompted Pelinka to fire his most recent hire, Darvin Ham, after just two seasons, but the club's personnel seems to be the problem. The team lacks athletic wing defenders or elite guards, and its two best players are both 30-plus and on the downslide of their careers.

During an appearance on Peacock's "The Dan Patrick Show" with the titular journo, ESPN's Brian Windhorst speculated on a prospective timeline for a potential Redick hire.

Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) says if JJ Redick gets hired as the #Lakers Head Coach, he doesn’t see it happening until after the Finals being that he’ll be a part of the broadcast team on ABC.

Windy also mentioned James Borrego as candidate for both the Cavs and Lakers gigs pic.twitter.com/CoTMbyIKW5

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 24, 2024

"If the Lakers' top choice is indeed JJ Redick — and I don't know that it is, I think that he's a strong candidate there — their competition is the NBA Finals on ABC, because JJ is calling the Finals on ABC and I would think that if he's hired as the coach of any team, it would be difficult to call the Finals, and that's his job right now," Windhorst predicted. "That's an interesting byproduct that we don't always get. There are other candidates."

Redick is a largely unproven commodity. How he'll do leading a team fronted by 20-time All-NBA forward LeBron James and nine-time All-Star center/power forward Anthony Davis remains to be seen.

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