NBA Rumors: Lakers Had 'Minimal' Contact With JJ Redick Prior to Dan Hurley Pursuit

The Los Angeles Lakers had "minimal" contact with ESPN analyst JJ Redick leading up to the team's pursuit of UConn's Dan Hurley to fulfill the Lakers' head coaching vacancy, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

On Monday, Hurley turned down a six-year, $70 million contract offer from the Lakers and chose to stay with the Huskies instead.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowksi listed Redick and New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego as two potential candidates for Los Angeles after Hurley chose not to accept the team's proposal.

Los Angeles fired former head coach Darvin Ham on May 3, and the team has been linked to Redick ever since.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on June 4 that the Lakers were "zeroing in" on Redick as the "front-runner" for the job, although the Lakers decided to heavily pursue Hurley instead.

The former shooting guard who spent 15 years in the NBA has been a candidate for multiple teams throughout the current coaching cycle, as he interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets in April regarding the team's head coaching opening. The Hornets eventually chose Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee instead.

While Redick doesn't have any links to the Lakers from his playing days, he has been hosting a podcast with LeBron James since March. However, ESPN's Dave McMenamin revealed that James "has not had any conversations" with Los Angeles regarding the team's coaching search.

Despite the reported minimal contact, the Lakers may start to ramp up talks between both sides after they missed out on Hurley. Wojnarowski noted on Monday that Los Angeles "could" hold the first formal interview with Redick as he potentially becomes a serious candidate.

He didn't appear to be given a lot consideration prior to the Lakers' pursuit of Hurley, though.