The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be taking a slow approach to finding their next head coach after firing Darvin Ham after just two seasons. Unlike the Phoenix Suns, who moved quickly to bring in former Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer after firing Frank Vogel after just one season, Los Angeles has no idea who will be the franchise's next head coach. Spread far and wide before making a decision. According to ESPN, the Lakers want to focus on less familiar candidates, so the first wave of targets are focused on current assistant coaches and former head coaches. CBS Sports' Bill Reiter also confirmed that Los Angeles is moving towards a new leader.
Those candidates include current Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn and New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, who was the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022. . Other current assistants on the list are Sam Cassel (Boston Celtics), Mika Noli (Minnesota Timberwolves) and David Adelman (Denver Nuggets). The Lakers have permission to interview everyone. According to Adrian Wojnarowski.
JJ Redick is also one of the candidates., and the Lakers had previously made phone calls around the league to learn more about the former NBA sharpshooter. Redick has no coaching experience, but is highly regarded around the league.
Quinn is a former NBA player who spent six years in the league with the Heat, Spurs and Cavaliers. He has been an assistant under Erik Spoelstra since 2014 and was an assistant coach at Northwestern for one season before that. Being from Spoelstra's coaching tree certainly carries some weight for Quinn, with interest from LeBron James, who has spoken glowingly of Spoelstra during and after his two-championship-winning Heat tenure. It is also possible to evoke Quinn and LeBron never crossed paths in Miami, but there was a faint connection there thanks to Spoelstra, as Quinn joined the Heat staff the year after James decided to return to the Cavaliers. That subtle connection could be important to Quinn, as LeBron will undoubtedly have a say in whoever the Lakers bring in as their next head coach.
Although Borrego never led the Hornets to the playoffs, he led them to their most wins since 2015 after finishing the 2021-22 season with a 43-39 record. That team had the 8th best offense, and after joining the Pelicans this season, helped the team finish with the 11th best offense, a year after finishing 20th in the same category. . The Lakers' offense this season has been middling, so bringing in an offensive-minded coach would be a good idea. During the 2024 season, the Lakers appeared to be at a loss for long periods of time during games.
After 15 seasons in the NBA, Cassel quickly turned to coaching, serving as an assistant with four different teams since 2009. He is currently an assistant with the Celtics under manager Joe Mazzula and is known for his ability to connect with his players.
Noli has been in the spotlight with the Timberwolves in recent weeks as Chris Finch's knee injury has kept him from coaching normally. Although he has never played in the league, Nori has more than 10 years of experience as an assistant with five different organizations.
Adelman is the son of longtime head coach Rick Adelman. Known for his player development abilities, he was also a longtime assistant and spent the past seven seasons with the Denver Nuggets. Last season, he won his first NBA championship.
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