The Los Angeles Lakers’ Hail Mary attempt at landing UConn coach Dan Hurley fell short and now they’re left scrambling for a head coach.
“The Lakers’ job is not that great of a job,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on “Get Up” Tuesday. “They’re a play-in team pretty much every year.”
Brian Windhorst wrote for ESPN that the “Lakers are embarrassed” after Hurley decided to stay in Connecticut, adding that they were not in love with any of the candidates they’ve talked to prior.
Pelicans assistant James Borrego and ESPN analyst J.J. Redick look to be top options to fill the vacancy.
Redick is expected to be a serious contender again, although The Athletic’s Jovan Buha notes the Lakers will need to “circle back and mend fences” while making him a “front-runner.”
Meanwhile, Borrego is the only Lakers candidate to have been interviewed twice for the job.
Windhorst has since added on “Get Up” that it seems Borrego is the apple of the Cavaliers” eye.
Redick has been focused on broadcasting the NBA Finals for ESPN before fully diving into coaching jobs.
It was previously expected that Redick would be in contention for the Cavaliers job, but if Windhorst’s speculation proves correct, the only remaining job for him will be in Los Angeles.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Redick has been the Lakers front-runner since the beginning, and that Hurley “was not the No. 1 candidate” for the Lakers.
“People around the league believe this was a Hail Mary offer at him,” Charania said. “Six years, $70 million and at the end of the day, Dan Hurley chose not to leave he chose to stay for $20 million less.”
Charania added that the interest may not have been genuine, as Hurley could have been looking to gain leverage during his contract negotiations with the UConn Huskies.
Aside from Borrego and Redick, it looks possible that the Lakers could try to go get ex-Villanova coach Jay Wright, who built two title teams including Knicks and Nets stars in Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo.
Kenny Atkinson, David Adelman and Sam Cassell reportedly were also in contention for the job prior to the Hurley interest and could be given serious consideration as candidates begin to dry up.
The NBA Draft is a little more than two weeks away on June 26, something LeBron James will be keeping a close eye on with free agency beginning July 1 and the roster in need of several upgrades.
