For the past week, it had been the worst-kept secret that JJ Redick was the favorite to land the Lakers head coaching gig. As recently as Wednesday, it was reported that the Lakers were "zeroing in" on Redick to become the next head coach, but that seems to have changed, as ESPN is reporting that L.A. is targeting UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley for the job. The Lakers are trying to lure Hurley away from the team that he just led to back-to-back NCAA national titles, and while nothing is official yet, it seems like for right now Redick has been pushed further down the list of candidates.
Redick, who will be an analyst for the NBA Finals, recently spoke about the coaching rumors surrounding him before any reports of L.A.'s interest in Hurley.
"I would say this, my focus right now is on calling the NBA Finals," Redick said during an appearance on the "GoJo and Golic" podcast. "I'm so fortunate that I'm in this position to call these Finals with Doris [Burke] and Mike [Breen]. My day-to-day right now is consumed with calling games, the 19 different podcasts I feel like I have [and] my obligations to all of our partners, so my focus is on the NBA Finals."
Redick finished by saying any reports or rumors about him and the Lakers coaching job will be "addressed once the season is over."
It was assumed that if Redick were going to be the Lakers' next head coach, that announcement would come once Redick finished his obligations with ESPN to call the NBA Finals. However, with Hurley's name now in the mix, which, according to ESPN, the Lakers have been pursuing "relentlessly," Redick could be alluding to how off-based the reports of him being the favorite to land the Lakers gig were.
Redick has no prior coaching level at any level, so the Lakers would be taking a risk in hiring him as their next head coach. While he's been praised for his basketball IQ and relationships with players and comes well respected around the league, it's imperative for L.A. to nail its next head coaching hire during an offseason where several other important decisions need to be made.
We'll have to see who ends up landing the job, but from the sounds of it, Redick doesn't plan on addressing the reports and rumors until after the Finals are finished.
