After the Lakers have been eradicated from the playoff’s first spherical final week, the purple and gold entrance workplace determined to fireside coach Darvin Ham on Friday. With none time to waste, there are already some names been floated as potential replacements for this job emptiness.
In line with Los Angeles insider Dave McMenamin, Tyronn Lue and JJ Redick are amongst those that are thought of “actual candidates” to take the function this summer season.
“JJ [Redick] definitely is an actual candidate in the event that they do open up this teaching search,” the ESPN reporter mentioned on the Dan Patrick Present. “There’s, I’d say, half a dozen of us on the market, together with presumably the man who simply misplaced final evening in opposition to the Mavericks, Tyronn Lue … that there will probably be a course of there that there are a number of viable candidates that can get an interview.”
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are finalizing an settlement to rent JJ Redick because the franchise’s new coach, sources inform ESPN. pic.twitter.com/m4EQZud1Eb
— Adrian Wojnarowski ᶠᵃⁿ (@wojkespn) Could 4, 2024
One factor that’s for certain, is that celebrity LeBron James holds Redick in excessive regard, particularly as they simply began a podcast collectively known as Thoughts the Recreation, the place they break down every little thing that has to do with the NBA.
It was Lakers’ basic supervisor Rob Pelinka who broke the information about their coach’s discharge. “We significantly admire Darvin Ham’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and acknowledge the various accomplishments achieved over the previous two seasons together with final yr’s outstanding run to the Western Convention finals,” he mentioned in a press release.
Ham led the L.A. squad with a 90-74 (.549) mark, which included a Western Convention finals berth, two play-in victories, and the first-ever In-Season Event title. Pelinka mentioned that he knowledgeable the previous coach of the choice in a cellphone name earlier than telling the press.
“All of us wish to thank Darvin for this dedication and positivity. Whereas this was a tough determination to make, it’s the greatest plan of action following a full assessment of the season. The group will stay unwavering in its dedication to ship championship-caliber basketball to Lakers followers all over the world,” the GM assured.
After their first-round elimination, Ham described his time guiding the Lakers as “a hell of a two years”
Darvin, who nonetheless had two years remaining on his contract, appears to be content material along with his time in Los Angeles it doesn’t matter what was the end result. Proper after he suffered his second-consecutive elimination by the hands of the Nuggets, he talked about his tenure.
“It’s been a hell of a two years … I’ll inform you that,” he mentioned after Recreation 5 on Monday. “Sitting on this seat, it’s been a hell of a two years. Quite a lot of good issues that bought performed, however in the end, you wish to win that final prize.”
“I couldn’t be extra pleased with our crew regardless of every little thing that occurred. Clearly, the sequence didn’t go in our favor, didn’t begin the best way we needed it to, however to win that one at residence, our guys confirmed a whole lot of guts and a whole lot of character,” Ham added.
In line with insider Shams Charania, the next-coach record to change into the twenty ninth Lakers tactician additionally embrace Kenny Atkinson, Mike Budenholzer and naturally, JJ Redick and Ty Lue.
