It has been nearly two weeks since the dismissal of Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers still need a head coach.
Although LeBron James had a stellar season and Anthony Davis played a career-high 76 games, the Lakers ended a disappointing year with a first-round exit that cost Ham his job.
There hasn’t been any official news out of L.A. about interviews for the vacancy, but the rumor mills — and sportsbooks — have been buzzing.
Mike Budenholzer was an early favorite, but he has since signed a five-year, $50-plus million contract to become the next head coach of the Phoenix Suns.
So now that he is off the board, let’s take a look at the latest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook Ontario: *
James Borrego: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Sam Cassell: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
JJ Redick: +340 (bet $10 to win $44 total)
Micah Nori: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
David Adelman: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Terry Slotts: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Kenny Atkinson: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Frank Vogel: +1900 (bet $10 to win $200 total)
Tyronn Lue: +3400 (bet $10 to win $350 total)
Phil Handy: +4800 (bet $10 to win $490 total)
Rajon Rondo: +4800 (bet $10 to win $490 total)
* odds as of 5/14/24
Who should the Lakers hire to replace Darvin Ham?
The Lakers are reportedly not rushing to make a decision and, as a result, are doing their due diligence in deciding who to hand the reins to.
The three names the sportsbooks are leaning heavily towards are James Borrego, Sam Cassell and JJ Redick.
Tied at +300, Borrego is considered one of the favorites. He was the head coach for the Charlotte Hornets from 2018-2022 and won two rings with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs, where he was an assistant for 10 seasons.
He is considered to be an offensive leaning coach, and guided the Hornets to the league’s eighth-most efficient offense in 2022. He is currently an assistant with the New Orleans Pelicans, where he helped them improve from the league’s 20th best offense to the 11th.
The other favorite tied with Borrego is Sam Cassell.
No stranger to NBA fans, Cassell played in the association for 15 seasons and won three NBA championships. He is a long-time assistant coach, who most notably worked on Doc Rivers’ staff for six seasons.
He is currently an assistant with the Boston Celtics.
However, the most surprising name on the board is Redick, whose lack of head coaching experience is not reflected in his strong odds at +210. The former NBA player was a standout in college and a solid role player in the league for 15 seasons.
Redick also has a podcast with James that likely fuels the speculation his first coaching gig could be with the Lakers.
He has also been linked to the Hornets.
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