Report: Lakers will begin contacting head coach candidates soon

The first wave of the process is expected to focus on assistants and former head coaches the Lakers aren’t as familiar with, such as the Miami Heat’s Chris Quinn and the New Orleans Pelicans’ James Borrego.

The Lakers are expected to take a significant step in their search for a new head coach soon.

ESPN reported on Monday that the Lakers will start contacting coaching candidates “in the coming days.”

The report, which cited unnamed sources, added that the Lakers’ initial focus will be on assistants and former NBA head coaches they aren’t as familiar with before mentioning the initial interview list is expected to include assistant coaches such as the Miami Heat’s Chris Quinn and the New Orleans Pelicans’ James Borrego.

The Lakers fired former head coach Darvin Ham on May 3 after just two seasons at the helm after an up-and-down 2023-24 season.

Ham finished his Lakers tenure with a 90-74 regular-season record and a 9-12 playoff record, with the Lakers making the postseason in both seasons.

The Denver Nuggets swept the Lakers in last season’s Western Conference finals and the Lakers were once again knocked out of the playoffs by the Nuggets in five games in a first-round playoff series last month.

ESPN added that the Lakers’ coaching search is “expected to proceed in stages with this first wave … a period of talking to coaches with whom the Lakers have more history, followed by a whittling of the list to a final round of candidates.”

The Lakers’ front office is in Chicago for the NBA draft combine this week.

A few of the candidates the Lakers are reportedly interested in: Nuggets assistant coach David Adelman, Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Noriand and ESPN analyst/broadcaster JJ Redick.

The Lakers were expected to show interest in Charles Lee and Mike Budenholzer, but they were hired last week as head coaches for the Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns, respectively.