Sources – Lakers to interview JJ Redick for coaching job

JJ Redick will formally interview for the Los Angeles Lakers coaching job this weekend, and a strong performance is expected to move him to the forefront of the franchise’s search, sources told ESPN.

Redick, the ESPN NBA analyst who played 15 years in the league, had a 90 minute-plus visit with Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka last month at the Chicago draft combine, and now a trip to Los Angeles will go far deeper into detail on the job and include Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss in the meetings, sources said.

Pelinka and Redick have talked on the phone in recent days, and Redick understands and accepts Pelinka’s lengthy pursuit of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley that initially stalled Redick’s own candidacy, sources said.

The Lakers offered Hurley a six-year, $70 million contract that he turned down on Monday, sources said.

As New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego’s candidacy gains traction in Cleveland, Redick has a chance to make his case in all-day session with Pelinka, Buss and other elder decision-makers in Los Angeles, sources said.

As Pelinka did with Hurley, he still wants a teaching coach and staff who’ll prioritize the development of young players like Max Christie, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and can design a creative approach to featuring Anthony Davis on both ends of the floor, sources said. Redick has a strong relationship with Lakers star LeBron James, with whom he hosts a basketball podcast.

Redick is the lead analyst for ESPN’s game coverage and currently working the Boston Celtics–Dallas Mavericks NBA Finals series.