Nuggets assistant set to interview for Lakers job, but ESPN analyst the favorite

Rumors about who will be the next coach of the LA Lakers have been swirling ever since they parted ways with Darvin Ham shortly after being eliminated by the Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Many names have been attached to the job, a list that includes current head coaches, assistant coaches, former coaches, and one notable TV broadcaster.

Some of the candidates have already been taken off the board, either accepting other jobs or recommitting to their current teams. One potential hire who has been rumored and has not pulled his name out of the running is David Adelman, a current lead assistant for Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets.

David Adelman set to meet with Lakers

Adelman’s name was mentioned early in the process and it has since been confirmed multiple times. On Tuesday an article was published on The Athletic with sourcing from Shams Charania and Jovan Buha confirmed that the Lakers are officially planning to meet with Adelman as well as assistants Chris Quinn from the Heat and Micah Nori of the Timberwolves.

The story also revealed that the Lakers have already met with current assistant coaches Sam Cassell of the Celtics and James Borrego of the Pelicans. The story also confirmed that the Lakers have met with former NBA player and current ESPN analyst JJ Redick. Redick has zero NBA coaching experience, but has become a hot name in NBA media since retiring from the league.

JJ Redick the favorite to win the job

According to sources around the league, Redick is in pole position and the article states that the Lakers are “infatuated” with Redick and think he could be the next Pat Riley, a young coach who could lead the team for years to come.

Of course, the other angle here is that Redick currently cohosts a podcast with Lakers star LeBron James called ‘Minding the Game’. Both Charania and Richa Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports have come out and stated that LeBron isn’t involved in the Lakers coaching search and that just because they podcast together, that doesn’t mean James wants Redick to be his coach.

But that’s about the least believable thing I’ve ever heard. It seems like the Lakers have already decided to hire Redick and they are just waiting for the Finals to end and Redick to be done broadcasting for ESPN. This seems like a terrible idea for a number of reasons and one that will almost certainly blow up in the Lakers’ faces. For that reason, I’m in.