Report: 1 clear frontrunner emerging for Lakers head coach job

The Los Angeles Lakers are moving into the second round of interviews for their head coaching job, but the rest of the league believes that a clear frontrunner has already emerged.

In an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic said most around the league believe JJ Redick is the frontrunner for the position. Charania notes that Redick was the first candidate the Lakers spoke to as part of a lengthy meeting, and that the team is infatuated with him.

“There’s an infatuation with JJ Redick right now, just in terms of his ability for right now, but also being a coach that the Lakers can have for years and years to come,” Charania said. “That’s someone who’s young enough in the industry where you feel like you have a four, five, maybe six-year run with a guy like JJ Redick as your head coach, where now you have him command the respect of a LeBron James and Anthony Davis.”

Redick is only 39, so if the Lakers are looking for a long-term coach, he certainly fits the age bracket. A previous report even said the Lakers envision him as “a Pat Riley-like coaching prospect” despite his youth and inexperience.

If the Lakers really believe they have the next Riley on their hands, they are going to hire Redick. That still seems like a lot to put on a 39-year-old with no experience, but the Lakers really seem to want to find someone who can be a long-term answer. That makes sense after Darvin Ham lasted just two seasons, but Ham is relatively young, and there is no guarantee Redick will get better results.