Brian Windhorst reveals when LA could hire JJ Redick

It appears that former 15-year NBA shooting guard JJ Redick, who has emerged as a media figure in the podcast and broadcast space since retiring in 2021, is at least one of the top candidates vying for the head coaching job of the Los Angeles Lakers. The LA team's president is looking to hire his fourth head coach since 2017. Team president Rob Pelinka has been quick to attack his coaches, and one expects that he will soon have to start looking inward to uncover the real cause of the team's recent struggles on the floor.

In fairness, the aging Lakers have had some respectable years considering the level of competition in the Western Conference. LA made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2023 and won 47 games this season before being quickly defeated in the first round of the playoffs. That result prompted Pelinka to fire his most recent signing, Darvin Ham, after just two seasons, but the club's personnel appears to be the problem. The team lacks athletic wing defenders or elite guards, and its two best players are both over 30 and on the decline of their careers.

During an appearance on Peacock's “The Dan Patrick Show” with the titular journalist, ESPN's Brian Windhorst speculated about a possible timeline for a potential hiring of Redick.

“If the Lakers' first choice is indeed JJ Redick – and I don't know if that's the case, I think he's a strong candidate there – then their competition is the NBA Finals on ABC, because JJ is commentating on the Finals on ABC and I think if he's hired as a coach of a team, it would be difficult to comment on the Finals, and that's his job right now,” Windhorst predicted. “That's an interesting side effect that we don't always get. There are other candidates.”

Redick is still largely unproven, and how he will fare as coach of a team led by 20-time All-NBA forward LeBron James and nine-time All-Star center/power forward Anthony Davis remains to be seen.

More Lakers: Rich Paul clarifies Bronny James' NBA contract