Lakers meet with JJ Redick, James Borrego, Sam Cassell

Leaguewide, Redick — a former player and media analyst — has garnered buzz for the position. The Lakers are infatuated with Redick’s potential, according to league sources, viewing him as a Pat Riley-like coaching prospect who could both help the franchise in the short term and lead it for years. -via New York Times / May 21, 2024

LeBron James has seen just about every defense imaginable throughout his career and has had his fair share of postseason battles with players. On the “Mind the Game” podcast with JJ Redick, James named Stanley Johnson as one of the more underrated defenders he faced during their playoff series in 2018: “I think it was my first year back in Cleveland on a return and it was our first-round opponent, I think we played Detroit, if I’m not mistaken. I think KCP was on that team, (Andre) Drummond was on that team, a couple of other guys was on that team, obviously Moose (Greg Monroe) was on that team, I believe. I think Stan (Van Gundy) was coaching, if I’m not mistaken. I think Stan was coaching that team. But back to your question, Stanley Johnson he earned my respect in that first-round series. Stanley Johnson, he had the lateral movement, he had the physicality. You can tell the coaching staff told him ‘Don’t worry about the schemes.’ I feel like the same thing with Dort, don’t worry about the schemes yet. Everybody’s switching but you. You get through every screen. If you weakside lowman, you have no responsibility, you don’t pull in. You’re basically playing a box-and-one. There’s a lot more guys, obviously, I would give credit to defensively but that’s the one guy off the top of my head. It’s not recent memory, it’s 10 years ago but it’s recent enough. But Stanley definitely possessed those skills in our league, for sure.” -via Lakers Nation / May 21, 2024

Run It Back: “I’m told LeBron James is not involved in the Lakers head coaching search…James has made it clear that this is the organization’s decision, he’s had no conversions with the Lakers about JJ Redick.” @ShamsCharania on the #Lakers coaching search -via Twitter / May 20, 2024

Jovan Buha on Lakers coaching search: I think player development is going to be a big part of this for sure, and that’s partly why you’ve seen guys like Sam Cassell be mentioned here because that is one of his strengths. -via YouTube / May 16, 2024

It really is for any candidate minus ones that a front office is sure would succeed in any situation. For James Borrego, for Sam Cassell, for Kenny Atkinson or David Adelman, there’s going to be a lot of projection and hypothesizing. Their experience probably makes it easier to predict, but to be clear, you’re still predicting. Hiring a coach is the hardest thing an executive does, according to an informal poll of some general managers here in Chicago. -via Los Angeles Times / May 16, 2024

Cameron Tabatabaie: Mazzulla on Sam Cassell: He’s been in every seat on the bench in the NBA…he’s a great coach, happy to have him pic.twitter.com/2qeQhuhTxa -via Twitter @CTabatabaie / May 15, 2024

Davis has recently developed a good rapport with Borrego, whom he briefly overlapped with in New Orleans during the summer before his rookie season, league sources said. The Lakers are seeking a coach who will command the locker room and hold players accountable, as well as tirelessly game plan and provide a level of structure and organization, according to multiple league and team sources. -via New York Times / May 21, 2024

Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: The Lakers have secured permission to interview several assistants for head coaching job, including New Orleans’ James Borrego, Denver’s David Adelman, Philadelphia’s Sam Cassell and Minnesota’s Micah Nori, among others. -via Twitter @wojespn / May 15, 2024