Despite meeting with JJ Redick over the weekend and most assuming hiring him was a formality, the Lakers have reportedly yet to offer the head coaching job to the ESPN analyst.
After formally interviewing JJ Redick at the team’s practice facility last weekend, most expected the Lakers to make their head coach hire as soon as the NBA Finals came to an end.
However, the Celtics have been champions — a vomit-inducing sequence of words — for days now and the Lakers still don’t have a head coach. And, for now, there is nothing inevitable quite yet.
On Wednesday evening, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN appeared on Sportscenter with Scott Van Pelt to talk about the Lakers coaching search. While he discussed a number of things, most notable was that he revealed the Lakers have not yet offered the job to Redick.
“What’s really left for the Lakers and JJ Redick at this point is for the Lakers to make an offer which they haven’t quite done yet.”
Woj also noted that Pelinka has spoken to other candidates since this weekend’s interview. Here’s the full segment of Woj talking with SVP.
.@wojespn joins @notthefakeSVP with the latest on the Pistons' and Lakers' coaching searches. pic.twitter.com/aD3ow8TWyJ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 20, 2024
This is a bit of a formality as there isn’t going to be a deliberation process once the Lakers offer the job to Redick. But that they haven’t done so yet does mean there’s still some level of deliberation going on, which is surprising.
One would assume that nearly two full months of searching and deliberating would be adequate enough to make their decision. With Redick now available to be hired, it feels like the decision needs to be now.
That Pelinka has talked to other candidates is interesting. Hypothesizing on who it could be, James Borrego is very likely considering how in-demand he is. It’d be a bit odd if they were reaching out to candidates who they have yet to formally interview, though. The one exception might be Monty Williams, who was fired by the Pistons on Wednesday.
It feels like we should be past the point of interviewing new candidates, especially with the draft a week away and free agency 10 days away.
Again, this is the very final step. All they have to do is offer the job and this whole thing is over. But, for now, that time has not yet come.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
