Woj: Lakers HC Will Be 'Won in the Interview' with 'No Obvious Choice' amid Rumors

There doesn't appear to be a current front-runner among candidates to become the next Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that Lakers' top decision-makers will place a heavy emphasis on interview performances during a Thursday appearance on NBA Countdown.

"One point that Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss are making to candidates is that this job is going to be won in the interview," Wojnarowski said. "They are not coming into this with any real preconceived ideas. There are a lot of candidates in this search they don't know very well. That's why they are taking their time to go through it and get to know them better. There is no obvious choice for the Lakers."

"They keep emphasizing to this entire group: you're going to win this job in the interviews," he added. "And that's why there are going to be candidates that go through several interviews before they make a decision."

The Lakers have been searching for a new head coach since Darvin Ham was fired on May 3.

Los Angeles has already started interviewing candidates for the vacancy. On Tuesday, Jovan Buha and Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Lakers have met with ESPN analyst and former shooting guard JJ Redick, Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell, and New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego.

Buha and Charania also noted that Los Angeles is planning on conducting future interviews with Denver Nuggets assistant coach David Adelman, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, and Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn.

The Lakers are expected to approach the hiring process in stages, initially meeting with candidates that they were less familiar with in previous coaching searches before talking to coaches that have some history with the team (per Wojnarowski and ESPN's Dave McMenamin).

While there may not be a current preferred choice among team officials, Redick is a candidate to monitor. NBA insider Marc Stein reported on May 15 that Los Angeles' head coaching job "might well be his to lose in the interview process."

The 15-year NBA veteran's name has cropped up throughout the current coaching cycle, as he previously interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets' head coaching job before the team ultimately hired former Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee.

However, the Lakers appear to be keeping an open mind throughout the hiring process and will base their decision on the interviews with each candidate.