Rumored Lakers coaching staff nearly assures who the next head coach will be

As though Los Angeles Lakers fans would expect anything less, the organization's search for a new head coach has been nothing short of captivating. JJ Redick leads a pool of candidates that include a former head coach with ties to Anthony Davis and a number of respected assistant coaches.

As the process of hiring a new head coach progresses, a recent report has shed light on what the future coaching staff could ultimately look like.

In addition to Redick, the Lakers have reportedly met with David Adelman, James Borrego, Sam Cassell, Micah Nori, and Chris Quinn. Cassell and Quinn are former NBA players with vast experience as assistant coaches, Borrego is a former head coach, and Adelman and Nori have earned their stripes with prominent organizations.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Redick continues to be the favorite to land the Lakers head coaching position, but several candidates could ultimately end up in Los Angeles in some capacity.

"League sources say fellow Lakers search candidates Sam Cassell (Boston) and James Borrego (New Orleans) would be prime targets for Redick's staff as well as an expected run at trying to bring Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley back to Lakerland."

If the Lakers are looking to position Redick and the team itself for success, that approach is certainly an ideal one to take.

Redick has yet to coach at the professional or collegiate levels. His rise to prominence is due in large part to his 15 years of NBA playing experience and how he's earned rave reviews for his work as an NBA analyst and podcast host.

That includes the Mind the Game podcast that Redick co-hosts with Lakers superstar LeBron James.

As such, in the event that Redick is hired, adding the likes of Borrego, Cassell, and Jared Dudley to his coaching staff would be a tremendous outcome for the Lakers.

Borrego is a former NBA head coach who has 20 years of experience in the Association overall and a relationship with Davis, the current franchise player. Cassell won three championships and earned All-NBA and All-Star honors as a player, and has since spent 15 years as an assistant coach.

As for Dudley, he played 14 years in the NBA, has been an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks since 2021, and has been teammates with both Davis and LeBron James.

By hiring three experienced and accomplished individuals to Redick's staff, the Lakers would check two critical boxes. For one, the organization would succeed in bringing experience to a sideline that will be led by a head coach who would otherwise be without any.

Perhaps equal in importance is the fact that hiring James' podcast partner would be complemented by adding assistant coaches who Davis has a positive relationship with.

Walking the thin line of appeasing your superstars and building a quality staff is a challenge that all franchises face. In the event that Redick is hired and all three of those ideal assistant coach targets follow, one could argue that the Lakers would have done the unthinkable by successfully navigating that terrain.

There are still an abundance of question marks due to Redick's inexperience, but talk of his coaching staff seemingly confirms who the next head coach of the Lakers will be.