Sources: Lakers to start contacting head-coaching candidates

CHICAGO -- The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to start contacting coaching candidates in the coming days, with an initial concentration on sitting assistants and ex-head coaches with whom they have less familiarity, sources told ESPN on Monday.

Lakers VP of Basketball Operations and general manager Rob Pelinka has been gathering information on a number of head-coaching candidates, including ESPN analyst JJ Redick, sources said. The initial wave of requests for interview permission will be with those the organization hasn't met with in previous searches, or simply knows less than other candidates.

In Pelinka's conversations with officials across the league, the term "grinder" keeps coming up in the general manager's description of an important characteristic for the next coach, sources said.

The initial interview list is expected to include assistant candidates such as Miami's Chris Quinn and New Orleans' James Borrego, sources said.

The search is expected to proceed in stages with this first wave, then 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, sources said.

The Lakers fired Darvin Ham after two seasons earlier this month. Ham was 90-74 overall, with a trip to the Western Conference finals in his debut season followed by a five-game series loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs this year.