Lakers head coach search narrowed to 4 names expected to interview

The L.A. Lakers are looking to replace recently fired head coach Darvin Ham and an NBA insider has revealed the four major candidates that the Lakers are targeting.

As noted by Evan Sidery on X, Shams Charania of The Athletic appeared on the Pat McAfee show saying that Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick, David Adelman, and James Borrego are "expected to interview" for L.A's head coach opening.

L.A. goes into next season with many questions as the franchise tries to reach the championship heights that they had in the 19-2020 season. After the 2021-22 season, the Lakers fired Frank Vogel and then hired Darvin Ham. Ham, then coached the Lakers for two years with disastrous effects as the squad seemingly seemed to be suffering from his rotation decisions.

The franchise faces a LeBron James free agent decision which could impact any chance of competing for anything in the Western Conference. With plenty of time before the Lakers decide, it's worth wondering what the background of all four possible head coaches is.

What is the background of all four of these possible Lakers head coaches?

Of these four head coach candidates, Kenny Atkinson and James Borrego are the only two with previous head coaching experience. Atkinson was able to get the most out of the Brooklyn Nets before the franchise signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Atkinson went 118-189 in his four seasons with Brooklyn. After Atkinson was kicked out of Brooklyn, he was named an assistant for the Warriors.

James Borrego was the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022. Borrego, a former Spurs assistant was forced out of Charlotte after a poor record of 138-163.

David Adelman would be an interesting choice for the Lakers. Adelman has been a top assistant for the Denver Nuggets since 2017. Seen around the league as a top choice after filling out times for Michael Malone during the regular season last year, it would be hard to see him as an actual choice for the Lakers with their price concerns over salary.

On the other hand, JJ Redick has no previous coaching experience in the NBA. The former Clipper played in the league for 15 years averaging 12 points per game on 44 percent shooting. The veteran has been applauded for his analysis on ESPN and his podcast The Old Man and the Three.

While the Lakers may be able to nail this head coaching hire, their recent history and poor front office decision from Rob Plenkia seem to indicate that they will be unable to compete for the title.