Latest Lakers coaching search update sends clear message to fans: Buckle in

The Los Angeles Lakers lost a possible head coach candidate when their cross-town rivals, the Clippers, signed Tyronn Lue to a new contract. Whether related to that or not, though, things won't be winding down on that front any time soon for the purple and gold.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on NBA Today (h/t F5SeasonOfficial on Reddit) that the Lakers are "nowhere close" to hiring the franchise's next head coach. Woj also added that LA is going to "dig a little deeper" over the next few weeks as they try to find the right man for a job that has little security in recent years.

The Lakers fired Darvin Ham after two seasons where the head coach failed to show the promise desired as a suitable coach for this roster. Before hiring Ham, the Lakers fired Frank Vogel, who coached them to a championship in 2020 but struggled to even lead LA to being an average NBA team in the following years.

As it stands now, J.J. Redick is seemingly the favorite to be hired for the position. Still, the squad has likely exhausted every bit of research on the former NBA veteran as the coach has never coached anything above youth basketball. The franchise could hire another candidate like James Borrego but Redick is seemingly in the lead for the head coaching job.

Is Lakers methodical approach with head coaching hire the right one?

Despite possibly hiring an inexperienced coach like Redick, the Lakers are doing the right thing by taking their time with this decision.

Seeing the Lakers not rush into hiring Redick or any other potential candidate while also possibly not trading for a third star while prioritizing depth is a great sign. Going into this offseason, it was easy to see how the Lakers could screw up this summer by trading for a third star to make sure they have a star to pair with Anthony Davis once LeBron James retires.

Rob Pelinka made this mistake during the 2021 offseason by trading for Russell Westbrook and was in clear danger of making this mistake again. Yes, hiring an inexperienced coach like Redick might come with some growing pains but the franchise isn't having a horrible offseason. And if their patience is rewarded, it could get even better.