3 Most Likely Lakers Head Coach Hires After Dan Hurley Update
By Cem Yolbulan
James Borrego
Immediately after announcing that Hurley turned down the Lakers offer, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN named Borrego as a potential candidate for the job as he is "expected to remain part of the group". However, if the Lakers want to hire Borrego, they need to act fast as the Pelicans assistant is also among the frontrunners to land the Cleveland Cavaliers job.
After a dogged pursuit of Hurley over past weeks, Lakers will regroup and resume bringing in candidates for interviews with hope of hiring a coach by Draft, sources said. James Borrego is expected to remain part of group and Lakers could do their first formal interview with JJ…
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 10, 2024
Borrego has more experience and coaching pedigree than Redick. He has been an assistant with the Spurs, Hornets, and the Magic for 15 years before becoming the head coach in Charlotte in 2018. In his four seasons there, he made two Play-In appearances and had one winning campaign. It may not be the most inspiring record but where the Hornets have been since he left two seasons ago proves how difficult of a job he had there during his tenure.
Last season, Borrego was the lead assistant under Willie Green in New Orleans. As a member of the Gregg Popovich coaching tree, Borrego has deep connections to the Spurs and their way of doing things. At age 46, he is still a young coach with some upside and could be a healthy balance between a modern first-time coach like Redick and an older, more traditional coach like the next name on this list.