Lakers Rumors: 'Mixed Bag' on Plan B for LA After Dan Hurley Rejected HC Job

After Dan Hurley rejected their offer, the Los Angeles Lakers are back to the drawing board in their search for a new head coach.

Per The Athletic's Jovan Buha (starts at 8:00 mark), the feeling from people within the organization and around the NBA is it is a "mixed bag in terms of what is plan B" for the Lakers after missing out on Hurley.

In terms of how mixed the bag is right now, Buha noted he's heard everything from J.J. Redick is still a favorite for the job to he is "out" and the Lakers will "scrap the entire pool" of candidates to start over.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Hurley turned down a six-year, $70 million contract from the Lakers to remain at Connecticut.

Before the situation with Hurley came to light, there was speculation that Redick was the favorite to be hired by Los Angeles.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported on June 4 that the Lakers were "zeroing in on Redick as the frontrunner" to replace Darvin Ham. New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego was another candidate who had been under serious consideration.

According to Wojnarowski, Borrego is expected to remain among the Lakers' candidates and Redick could have his first formal interview with the club.

Other candidates the Lakers previously requested to interview include Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman, Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn.

From that group, Borrego is the only one with previous experience as an NBA head coach. He spent four seasons with the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to '22, posting a 138-163 record with no playoff appearances.

The Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, who fired J.B. Bickerstaff on May 24, are the only teams that currently have a head-coaching vacancy. Ham was fired by Los Angeles on May 3 following the team's first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Whomever gets hired by the Lakers will be eighth different head coach for the franchise since the start of the 2011-12 season. Luke Walton (2016 to '19) and Frank Vogel (2019 to '22) are the only coaches who have made it to a third season with the club during this span.