As the Lakers continued meeting with prospects in the final days of the NBA draft combine, their coaching search continued to be a strong topic of conversation among rival scouts and executives.
Internally, Lakers sources not authorized to speak publicly have tried to describe their coaching search as being a “wide open” process, with things still in the early stages.
Following the dismissal of Darvin Ham, the team began researching a batch of candidates that included top assistants, former head coaches and, yes, broadcaster-podcaster JJ Redick.
Candidate interviews are close, but as of now, anything being discussed with certainty has been called “hypothetical” by candidates involved in the process.
Read more: Lakers newsletter: Would JJ Redick be a good fit as Lakers coach?
But despite what the Lakers are saying, many around the league view Redick as the favorite and offered varying levels of approval.
Some see Redick as a bright, analytically driven basketball mind with a top understanding of the game and excellent communication and presentation skills.
Some wonder if Redick’s business relationship with LeBron James would poison his ability to connect with the rest of the locker room, an opinion prominently voiced on television by Udonis Haslem.
Others see nothing but inexperience and view the Lakers’ job as a disaster waiting to happen for even experienced coaches, never mind someone moving from the broadcast booth to his first coaching job.
Part of what’s driving the expectation Redick will get the Lakers job is a belief that he’ll have incredibly strong interviews, according to sources discouraged from discussing personnel moves for competitive reasons.
Read more: Lakers’ next coach? Here’s a rundown of the potential candidates
The reality is, at this stage, no one can say for sure.
New Orleans assistant James Borrego does have strong support in his candidacy and has been highly valued by Pelicans staffers and executives who spoke with The Times.
Boston’s Sam Cassell, an NBA assistant since 2009 after a 15-season career, is expected to interview soon and has real support from others around the league.
The same can be said for candidates such as Miami’s Chris Quinn, Minnesota’s Micah Nori and Denver’s David Adelman.
The race is seemingly open enough that anyone with a…