Lakers Rumors: JJ Redick, LA Met for 'Extended' Interview amid LeBron James Buzz

JJ Redick is reportedly viewed as the favorite to land the Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching job after recently meeting with the team.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium said Redick and the Lakers met "for an extended period of time" last week:

Charania added that Redick was the first candidate to have a face-to-face meeting with the Lakers' brass, and he gets the sense that Redick is the front-runner for the position.

The Lakers' head coaching job became available earlier this month when Darvin Ham was fired after just two seasons with the team.

Following the decision to fire Ham after a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers moved quickly to compile a list of potential replacements.

Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported that Redick was among the early contenders, along with Boston Celtics assistant and three-time NBA championship-winning guard Sam Cassell and former Charlotte Hornets head coach and current New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego.

In one sense, Redick's emergence as a candidate was surprising since he has no prior coaching experience, but there were also some significant links that made him stand out as a clear option.

Chief among them is Redick's relationship with Lakers superstar LeBron James, as they host a podcast together called Mind the Game Pod, which features Redick and James breaking down the X's and O's of basketball.

Since Redick and LeBron are clearly aligned on that front, it stands to reason that James would give his blessing to the Lakers' front office to hire Redick.

Also, Charania and Buha reported that legendary former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been a "respected unofficial resource" in the Lakers' head coach search.

Coach K was Redick's coach for four seasons at Duke, and there is little doubt that he would give the Lakers a glowing recommendation when it comes to Redick's viability as an NBA head coach.

The Lakers have typically turned to coaches with a significant amount of head coaching or assistant coaching experience at the NBA level.

Redick would be an obvious departure from that, but they may need to try something different given that they haven't been to the NBA Finals since 2020 despite boasting the superstar duo of James and Anthony Davis.