Lakers Rumors: Rajon Rondo, Sam Cassell Among Candidates to Join JJ Redick's Staff

The Los Angeles Lakers have their new head coach, hiring former player and broadcaster JJ Redick on Thursday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka reportedly "became sold on Redick's ability to connect with players and his basketball IQ and believes surrounding him with an elite coaching staff will help to shorten the learning curve into his first coaching job," per Woj.

As for filling out that staff, Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported that "assistant coaching candidates for Redick's staff will include former head coach and recent Portland Trail Blazers assistant Scott Brooks, former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo, ex-Laker and current Dallas Mavericks assistant Jared Dudley and [former NBA player and current Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell]."

As you might expect, the Lakers hiring an inexperienced head coach to one of the highest-profile jobs in sports divided opinion on social media:

As for the potential assistants in play, Brooks would bring the most coaching experience, having served as the head coach of both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Washington Wizards during his career, alongside being an assistant for the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Thunder and the Blazers.

Rondo, 38, doesn't bring any coaching experience to the table either, but he was considered an extremely bright and tactical player in his day, and LeBron James himself said in March on the Mind the Game podcast with Redick that it's "very weird to me that [Rondo's] not coaching at a high level."

Dudley, 38, is a former NBA role player who has transitioned into coaching on Jason Kidd's staff in Dallas.

And Cassell, 54, was a point guard in his playing days like Rondo, and has himself been a name that pops up in head-coaching searches. He's been a part of several coaching staffs in his post-playing days, including the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and the Celtics.

Brooks and Cassell, in particular, would bring plenty of coaching experience to Redick's staff, while Rondo would be a fascinating hire given his reputation as a smart basketball mind. Either way, the spotlight is now firmly trained on Redick as he looks to prove he's up to the task of guiding one of the NBA's signature franchises.