Report: Los Angeles Lakers 'zeroing in' on JJ Redick as next head coach

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly close to hiring JJ Redick as their next head coach.

Shams Charania posted on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that the Lakers are “zeroing in” on the former Duke and NBA star and current ESPN broadcaster.

“The Los Angeles Lakers are zeroing in on JJ Redick as the frontrunner for franchise’s next head coach, league and industry sources say,” Charania tweeted.

JJ Redick has long been considered to be a candidate for the Lakers job, although he is first set to broadcast the NBA Finals between the Mavericks and Celtics, which begin on Thursday. Redick also interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets for their head coaching job after Charlotte’s season ended.

JJ Redick spent 16 seasons in the NBA. He shot 41.5 percent from 3-point range in his career, while playing for the Magic, Bucks, Clippers, 76ers, Pelicans and Mavericks.

The 39-year-old has previously talked about his desire to get into coaching down the line.

“You certainly miss the competitive side of professional basketball when you retire, and that’s probably the biggest itch,” Redick told Dan Patrick about potentially coaching last May. “I’m loving what I’m doing right now and I am in a very fortunate situation that I can kind of wait and just see if there’s anything that materializes that’s sort of a perfect fit.”

Redick’s media career has blossomed as he has become an emerging voice in the NBA space after launching podcasts on Yahoo! Sports, Uninterrupted, and The Ringer, before starting his own media company. He currently hosts ‘The Old Man and the Three‘ with Tommy Alter under ThreeFourTwo Productions and also recently launched ‘Mind the Game‘ alongside LeBron James.

Redick also serves as an on-air analyst for ESPN, spending time as a guest on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ and on the broadcast team of ESPN’s NBA coverage. He moved to the network’s lead team alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke to replace Doc Rivers after he became head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks in February.

At Duke, Redick was the 2006 National Player of the Year, a two-time Consensus First-Team All-American and a two-time ACC Player of the Year. He ended his college career as the Blue Devils’ all-time leading scorer before being selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic.

In the NBA, Redick scored 12,028 points between his time with six different organizations. He was regarded as one of the best 3-point shooters in the league during his playing days.

“I’ve talked with teams now going on a year about assistant jobs and I’m interested in being a head coach. I don’t have to start as a head coach, I don’t have to start as an assistant, doesn’t matter to me. It’s more just about the fit and the people that are at the organization,” Redick also said to Patrick last year.