Lakers hire JJ Redick as head coach

2:30 p.m.: Redick will get about $8 million per season on his four-year deal, sources tell The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha.

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2:09 p.m.: The Lakers she’s getting a job JJ Redick to be their new head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that Redick will receive a four-year contract.

According to Woj, head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka believes in Redick’s “basketball IQ” and his “ability to connect with players.” Pelinka also believes that surrounding Redick with an experienced staff “will help shorten the learning curve” for the first-time head coach. Redick has already started assembling a staff, adds Woj.

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times confirms that Redick has made a verbal commitment to the Lakers (Twitter link).

Multiple league sources told MassLive.com’s Brian Robb that Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell is a name to watch for an assistant job on Redick’s staff, echoing an earlier report from Marc Stein. Cassell was among the candidates who interviewed for the Lakers job.

A former NBA standout who played 15 seasons in the league from 2006-2021, Redick has ties to the Los Angeles area after playing four seasons for the Clippers. The ESPN analyst also co-hosts a podcast with LeBron James. While James took a hands-off approach to the search, Redick’s pre-existing relationship with the superstar forward certainly didn’t hurt his candidacy.

Redick, who turns 40 next week, has long been seen as the front-runner for the Lakers’ head coaching job after they fired him. Darwin Ham last month after a first-round playoff exit. However, Redick did not officially interview for the position until last weekend and was not offered the job as of this morning, according to Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski previously reported that the Lakers offered a six-year, $70 million contract to UConn. Dan Hurley, who won back-to-back NCAA titles with the Huskies. Hurley ultimately declined the offer and is reportedly nearing a long-term deal to remain in Storrs.

Pelicans Associate Head Coach James Borrego he was viewed as the other leading candidate in the Lakers’ pursuit. Borrego is reportedly a finalist in the Cavs’ coaching search, with a recent report listing him as the frontrunner for the job.

As our tracker shows, a few other names have popped up in the Lakers’ pursuit, but it’s unclear how seriously some of them were being 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 notable free agent prospect is James, who holds a $51.4 million player option for next season.