The little noise when it comes to the Lakers head coaching search may be a result of the team being focused on two names early on in Ty Lue and JJ Redick.
In the week that has passed since the Lakers fired Darvin Ham, the most notable developments in the team’s head coach search have been other teams hiring away candidates, with the Suns landing on Mike Budenholzer and the Hornets agreeing to a deal with Charles Lee.
For the Lakers specifically, though, nothing has come out other than some links to candidates they are interested in to some degree. It could be the Lakers taking a slow approach to the situation, which they did last head coaching search.
It could also be that the Lakers are focused on very specific candidates as well. Two of the most common names mentioned for the opening have been current Clippers coach Ty Lue and ESPN broadcaster and LeBron James podcast co-host JJ Redick.
On Thursday, Dave McMenamin of ESPN appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and discussed the Lakers’ coaching search at length.
“The only two candidates I’ve reported...on and I stand fast as the two, I don’t if I would say top names but certainly names the Lakers clearly have interest in are Tyronn Lue and J.J. Redick. Now, Tyron Lue, there’s been reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Clippers intend to extend him. Until that happens, he will remain a person of interest for the Lakers head coaching job. We shall see what will happen...But there remains interest in Tyronn Lue and in J.J. Redick as someone who the team views as an intriguing, young, smart prospect. Someone who could grow in the job and, obviously, has established a report with LeBron James and the Lakers intend to have LeBron James come back on any term that he wants to.
Those are the names right now. I’ve seen other reporting by other outlets listing a bunch of candidates. Of course, the Lakers are aware of every potential person they could and, at some point, the list could expand. But they are staying relatively focused there. They intend to talk to experienced candidates. I know I’ve said J.J. Redick, he is not experienced. He would be the exception. There is a preference to find an experienced candidate. As they expand if they need to, look for them to add experienced candidates to that list. But right now, those are the two names I have heard with real, genuine interest that the Lakers have.”
There’s a lot to discuss based on this from McMenamin, so let’s break it down.
For one, it seems as though the Lakers are going to wait on what happens with Ty Lue. If he gets an extension, then they’ll move on. But they’re willing to wait to find out how the situation is resolved.
McMenamin’s comments also make it clear that Redick is going to be a candidate who gets serious consideration, at least at the beginning. They wouldn’t be the first team to interview him, and it seems very likely that the Lakers will be the latest to do so.
There are positives to Redick, like his very clear basketball IQ and his relationship with LeBron. But the Lakers already saw the negatives of hiring a first-time head coach in Darvin Ham and Luke Walton, and they were both assistants before taking the role. Redick has not a lick of professional coaching experience.
As much as Redick might be a serious candidate, though, he is the outlier as the team wants experience. That creates an interesting situation because there aren’t a lot of experienced candidates out there. It explains why they were interested in Jason Kidd before his extension and why they’ll wait on Ty Lue.
But Budenholzer's hiring elsewhere will thin the pool of experienced candidates. This might force the Lakers to change their approach, which further explains their reason for patience.
For now, the Lakers look set to wait it out for Lue, who would be an absolute coup. Until a decision is made there, it seems like more silence should be expected.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
