2:30pm: Redick will receive about $8MM per season on his four-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
2:09 pm: The Lakers are hiring J.J. Redick to be their new head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that Redick will receive a four-year deal.
According to Woj, head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka believes in Redick’s “basketball IQ” and his “ability to connect with players.” Pelinka also thinks surrounding Redick with an experienced staff “will help to shorten the learning curve” for the first-time head coach. Redick has already begun to assemble a staff, Woj adds.
Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times confirms that Redick has made a verbal commitment to the Lakers (Twitter link).
Multiple league sources tell Brian Robb of MassLive.com that Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell is a name to watch for an assistant job on Redick’s staff, which echoes a previous report from Marc Stein. Cassell was among the candidates who interviewed for the Lakers’ job.
A former NBA sharpshooter who played 15 seasons in the league from 2006-2021, Redick has connections to the Los Angeles area, having played four seasons for the Clippers. The ESPN analyst also co-hosts a podcast with LeBron James. While James reportedly took a hands-off approach in the search, Redick’s preexisting relationship with the superstar forward surely didn’t hurt his candidacy.
Redick, who turns 40 years old next week, was long viewed as the frontrunner for the Lakers’ head coaching job after they fired Darvin Ham last month following a first-round playoff exit. However, Redick didn’t formally interview for the position until last weekend and wasn’t offered the job until this morning, per Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski previously reported that the Lakers offered a six-year, $70MM contract to UConn’s Dan Hurley, who has won back-to-back NCAA titles with the Huskies. Hurley ultimately declined the offer and is reportedly nearing a long-term deal to stay in Storrs.
Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego was viewed as the other main candidate in the Lakers’ search. Borrego is reportedly a finalist in the Cavs’ coaching search, with one recent report pegging him as the frontrunner for the job.
As our tracker shows, several other names emerged in the Lakers’ search, but it’s unclear how seriously some of them were considered.
Now that the team’s coaching search is over, the Lakers will turn to the draft, trade market and free agency to improve their roster entering 2024/25. Their most noteworthy potential free agent is James, who holds a $51.4MM player option for next season.