Lakers Must Show Urgency In HC Search Amid JJ Redick, James Borrego, NBA Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking for a new head coach for the third time since 2019.

With championship aspirations, and LeBron James' June 29 player option hanging over the team like a pregnant cloud ready to burst, the team must show urgency in its search for its next leader. According to recent reports, the storied organization has plenty of options.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the team is ramping up its search, with analyst and former player JJ Redick and New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego among those worth keeping an eye on.

The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported there are assistants across the league that the Lakers are also paying attention to, specifically naming Minnesota's Micah Nori, Denver's David Adelman, Dallas' Sean Sweeney, and Miami's Chris Quinn.

It is a welcome change of pace that the team is not cycling through the same old crop of coaching candidates, especially given how much the next hiring and the team's aggression this offseason will be directly linked to whether James returns to the team, there must be a sense of urgency within the front office to find a coach.

That does not mean rushing the process, but there cannot be a long, drawn-out process when James' future, free agent signings, potential trades, and a championship pursuit all rely on which candidate the team ultimately hires to help oversee it all.

Redick addressed coaching rumors and what about it has piqued his interest on the Road Trippin' podcast with Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, and Allie Clifton (some language NSFW).

Whether the team would feel comfortable placing its immediate future in the hands of a candidate with no coaching experience beyond youth travel leagues remains to be seen. The idea that he is still in the mix or the job suggests the team is not willing to stick to the tried and true, or even prototypical candidates.

Borrego has experience as a head coach, with stops in Orlando and Charlotte and a record of 148-183. While those numbers are hardly impressive, and those teams were anything but good, he has shined in New Orleans, taking a bottom-third offense and turning it into a top-10 unit, which has undoubtedly caught the eye of Lakers brass.

Adelman has been a key assistant in Denver during the Nuggets' championship run and is a second-generation coach. Nori, similarly, has been essential to the Timberwolves' return to prominence and impressive playoff run this season.

The Lakers are in a great position to find a coach, be it someone with experience or an analyst with the desire to get back on the floor, but they must take a business-like approach and conduct their search with the urgency of a team that does not have a huge window to work with.

James' career is winding down. The desire to win another world title is as strong now as it has been in years. Putting the pieces in place to accomplish that goal is key and that starts with hiring the coach that will navigate those pieces and guide them to whatever destination he is capable of.