Lakers Rumors: James Borrego 'Impressive' in Interviews amid Growing JJ Redick Buzz

Despite rumors that the Los Angeles Lakers are eyeing JJ Redick to be their next head coach, it sounds like the team is intrigued by another candidate as it continues to explore its options.

According to The Athletic's Jovan Buha, "Redick's primary competition throughout the process, at least over the past couple of weeks, has been James Borrego. The New Orleans Pelicans associate coach and former Charlotte Hornets head man met with Lakers stakeholders last week at the team's practice facility and was impressive during his meetings, league and team sources said."

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported on Tuesday that the Lakers were "zeroing in" on Redick "as the front-runner to be the franchise's next head coach." However, he added that "no final decision has been made yet" and the team's search process is ongoing.

Borrego coached the Hornets from 2018 to 2022 and joined the Pelicans' coaching staff prior to this season. He previously served as an assistant under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs and won two NBA championships with the franchise.

Buha noted that Borrego's familiarity with Lakers star center Anthony Davis helped attract Los Angeles to him.

"Davis and Borrego briefly overlapped in New Orleans before Davis' rookie season, and the two have maintained a solid rapport," Buha stated. "Both the Lakers and [Rich] Paul acknowledge that the Lakers should make this hire with Davis in mind more than [LeBron] James, which is part of the reason why Borrego has been so strongly considered."

Borrego could still land in Los Angeles even if he isn't hired as head coach, as Buha listed him as one of the team's top assistant coaching candidates along with Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, former Laker Rajon Rondo, former Laker and current Dallas Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley and former head coach and assistant Scott Brooks. If they put Redick at the helm, Buha reported that "they'd prefer to have Borrego and Cassell on Redick's staff as top assistants."