Exclusive: The Lakers are reportedly linked to a renowned figure who is interested in becoming head coach.

Rumors have already begun to circulate about whether Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham could potentially be on the hot seat after a second-consecutive postseason loss to the Denver Nuggets. And if he does ultimately lose his job, a name to potentially keep an eye on appears to be ESPN personality J.J. Redick.

Redick, a 15-year NBA veteran, has shown off his advanced basketball knowledge on several different instances since pursuing his media career at ESPN back in 2021. In the little time he has spent with the company, he has already emerged as one of the brightest stars in sports media, even earning himself a role on ESPN’s top broadcasting team.

But it isn’t his role at ESPN that could potentially make him a candidate for the Lakers coaching gig. It is his new podcast venture with Lakers star LeBron James, which has quickly gained a huge following. Since launching in March, the Mind the Game podcast has already reached 575,000 subscribers and counting on YouTube.

LeBron is known to keep a close inner circle, especially when it comes to his business ventures. So it certainly speaks to his relationship with Redick that the podcast ever began in the first place.

But does this really mean that Redick could potentially become the head of the Lakers? Potentially according to ESPN NBA reporter Dave McMenamin.

On Thursday, McMenamin spoke about the possibility on The Dan Patrick Show, saying that Redick would be a “real candidate” for the head coaching job if the Lakers do indeed part ways with Darvin Ham.

“LeBron’s opinion is certainly weighed by Rob Pelinka when he goes about doing his business. He calls him a stakeholder. It’s not just because LeBron puts a rubber stamp on a guy that the Lakers are automatically going to ink them to become the new guy running the sidelines. But certainly his influence matters.

“And also, the Lakers are a glamour franchise. They like themselves to be considered that way. You would get a guy with some cache with J.J. Redick if you were to pull him off the number one broadcast team at ESPN and ABC. J.J. is certainly a real candidate if they do open up this coaching search. But there will be a process there. There are several viable candidates.”

Another factor that potentially lends itself to this possibility is that this is not the first time that Redick has had his hat in the mix as a potential head coaching candidate.

Redick has interviewed for numerous head coaching vacancies in recent years, most recently with the Charlotte Hornets just last month.

You would have to think that if Redick is willing to interview for a job with the Hornets, he would absolutely jump at an opportunity to interview for the Lakers job —  which would have to be far more enticing for him.

Of course, the big domino has not fallen yet, with Darvin Ham still holding the head coaching gig in Los Angeles. But if he does ultimately get fired, watch out for J.J. Redick to potentially depart from ESPN in favor of the Lakers.