The Lakers appear to be circling in on JJ Redick.
The ESPN NBA analyst and popular podcaster is a heavy favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook & Casino Canada (-160) to be the team’s next head coach after it fired Darvin Ham following a first-round playoff exit.
Last week, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said Redick, who retired from the NBA in 2021 after 15 seasons, had emerged as the top candidate for the job.
“Going into this process and right now, my sense is that JJ Redick, he is the guy around the league that everyone believes is the front-runner for this job,” Charania said on the “Pat McAfee Show.”
Earlier this month, Charania and Jovan Buha reported that the franchise sees Redick as a “Pat Riley-like coaching prospect who could both help the franchise in the short term and lead it for years.”
Los Angeles Lakers next head coach odds
| Los Angeles Lakers next head coach odds |
|---|
| JJ Redick -160 |
| James Borrego +340 |
| Sam Cassell +340 |
| David Adelman +750 |
| Micah Nori +900 |
| Chris Quinn 11/1 |
| Kenny Atkinson 34/1 |
| Terry Stotts 34/1 |
Redick was reportedly the first candidate to have a face-to-face meeting with the Lakers front office.
Ex-Hornets head coach James Borrego is tied with Celtics assistant coach with the second-best odds (+340) at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Borrego, who is currently an assistant coach for the Pelicans, had a second interview with Lakers brass Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who said the team is “nowhere close” to making a coaching decision.
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TNT Sports’ Chris Haynes cast a slightly different tone on Wednesday, calling Redick essentially a shoo-in for the job.
“I will be very surprised if their next head coach is anybody but JJ Redick,” Haynes said on the Dan Patrick Show.
“Everything that I’m hearing is JJ Redick. From what I know he’s doing some background, calling some assistant coaching candidates who might be able to join his staff.”
