Lakers Rumors: Sam Cassell, Borrego, Dudley Eyed for Staff If JJ Redick Hired as HC

JJ Redick is still just a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching vacancy, but options to potentially fill out his assistant staff have reportedly already emerged.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday that Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego and Dallas Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley are all candidates to be assistants for Redick in such a scenario.

There are obvious connections with Dudley in particular, as he was teammates with Redick on the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2013-14 campaign. He was also a player for the Lakers during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns and helped them win a championship in the bubble.

Stein highlighted Dudley's "strong relationships" with LeBron James and Anthony Davis as selling points for the assistant candidate.

As for Cassell and Borrego, they have both been linked to the Lakers as head coaching candidates, so it remains to be seen whether they would accept assistant roles.

Either would be a valuable asset from Los Angeles' perspective.

While Cassell is likely still better known for his 15-season career as a player that lasted from 1993 to 2008, he has been an assistant coach since 2009 with stops on the Washington Wizards, Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Celtics. This is his first season with Boston, and the team is one victory away from the NBA Finals.

"He's been at every seat on the bench, and he knows how to communicate with every single player," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters of Cassell earlier in these playoffs.

Borrego has the head-coaching experience that Redick, Cassell and Dudley are missing and would provide a veteran voice on the bench in such a role. He was the interim coach for the 2014-15 Orlando Magic and also coached the Charlotte Hornets for four seasons from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

Charlotte went 138-163 under his guidance.

He also has experience as an assistant for the New Orleans Hornets, Magic and San Antonio Spurs and could add the Lakers to that list if he ended up making this potential move.