Report: Lakers to interview James Borrego in-person for head coaching position

The Lakers head coaching search continues as the organization will reportedly interview James Borrego for the job.

The Lakers are still without a head coach, with the NBA Draft fast approaching and free agency beginning shortly after.

They are continuing that search, with James Borrego reportedly being interviewed in-person for the position, according to Dan Woike of the LA Times.

Borrego has been connected to the position for quite some time now and was among the “initial leading targets” for the Lakers coach search with JJ Redick and Sam Cassell.

Borrego getting this kind of interview this deep into the process is a good sign for him, regardless of the outcome, as it demonstrates he is a serious candidate.

He is the only potential candidate with head coaching experience, now that the long shot that was Ty Lue has signed an extension with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Borrego was the interim coach for the Orlando Magic in 2015 and the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022.

He is currently an assistant for the New Orleans Pelicans and is also being considered for a potential Redick staff member position along with Jared Dudley and Cassell if the Lakers select him to be the next head coach, as NBA insider Marc Stein noted in his latest Substack dispatch.

More smoke to support the idea that ESPN’s JJ Redick is indeed the leading candidate to land the Lakers’ head coaching job: Rumbles about possible staff targets for Redick have already begun to circulate.

League sources say fellow Lakers search candidates Sam Cassell (Boston) and James Borrego (New Orleans) would be prime targets for Redick’s staff as well as an expected run at trying to bring Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley back to Lakerland. As a Lakers player for the final two seasons of his career in 2019-20 and 2020-21, Dudley had strong relationships with both LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

So, Borrego might find his way to Los Angeles either as the head coach or as an assistant to Redick’s staff.

Maybe he crushes the interview and ends up taking the main head coaching job, but for now, he seems in the running and like a legitimate candidate to be part of the organization in some capacity.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.