JJ Redick won’t confirm or deny the rumors swirling around him and the Lakers’ vacant head coaching job.
ESPN’s NBA analyst on DraftKingsGojo and GoricHe appeared on the “Broken Hearts” show on Wednesday and remained tight-lipped about a report Tuesday by The Athletic’s Shams Charania that the Lakers were “targeting” the former NBA star for their new head coach.
“I’ll say this: My focus right now is call-up the NBA Finals,” he said from a Boston hotel room ahead of Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, against the Celtics and Mavericks. “I’m really blessed to be in this position and to be able to call-up the Finals with Doris and Mike. My day-to-day work is dominated by call-up games, my 19 podcasts and my obligations to all of my partners. My focus is the NBA Finals.”
While Reddick didn’t go into details about the report, he did seem to have some sympathy for the reporter.
“As for Shams, he will be dealt with at the end of the season, that’s all I can say,” he said, adding, “It’s not like he’s up for any job, it’s Shams. We’ll wait and see on that.”
The 39-year-old has never coached basketball beyond the youth level but is known for his passion for the game and his analytical approach.
Charania said the Lakers became “infatuated” with Redick during the interview process but have not yet made a final decision.
The team’s candidates appear to have been narrowed down to two candidates: Redick, who co-hosts the “Mind the Game” podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James, and Pelicans assistant head coach James Borrego.
Charania previously reported that James would not be involved in the Los Angeles hire.
As former NBA player Udonis Haslem pointed out, Redick’s media exposure post-retirement could be an issue.
“There’s going to be some guys that say, ‘Coach is going to do a podcast with LeBron after the game?’ There’s going to be a cynical atmosphere in the locker room with guys that are going to doubt everything JJ says, because they’re going to wonder if it’s JJ’s message or LeBron’s message,” Haslem said in May.
The Lakers also interviewed Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Timberwolves assistant Micah Noli and Nuggets assistant David Adelman.
