Rob Pelinka is reportedly looking for the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers to have the characteristic of a "grinder," sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

With the Lakers expected to begin contacting coaching candidates in the coming days, James Borrego and JJ Redick are two prominent candidates for the role. 

The Lakers are also expected to interview Heat assistant Chris Quinn.

While the Houston Rockets were linked with a trade pursuit of Mikal Bridges back in January, they were also seeking a way to convert some of their future picks into picks that stretch further out into the future.

During that trade discussion, the Rockets offered the Brooklyn Nets their own first round picks back to them in exchange for the picks from the Phoenix Suns.

The Nets declined that scenario as they were pursuing a spot in the playoffs last season.

The Rockets ultimately held onto Brooklyn's pick in the 2024 draft and it moved up in the lottery to No. 3. 

Houston could reach out to other teams with a similar stockpile of picks such as the Utah Jazz or the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Rockets traded James Harden to the Nets in 2021 for unprotected first round picks in 2022, 2024 and 2026, along with pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027. Brooklyn subsequently traded Kevin Durant to the Suns in 2023 for first round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, as well as a pick swap in 2028.

LeBron James has deemphasized the importance of playing alongside his son, Bronny James, both in public comments and the reporting surrounding the situation. Bronny James' draft standing has come into question over the past few months after a cardiac situation last summer and an uneven season at USC.

The Los Angeles Lakers do have interest in adding Bronny James to their roster, but they are not preparing to use their first round pick on him.

"I think if the Lakers have an opportunity to draft Bronny James, they will do so. Whether that's with the 55th pick, or if they make another deal around the draft where they pick up another pick, I think they will try. I don't think it is going to be their top priority. I don't think the league right now is looking at this like if you draft Bronny James and you can get LeBron."

The Memphis Grizzlies are expected to evaluate trade opportunities for the No. 9 overall pick, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.

The Grizzlies are treating their 23-24 season as a gap of year of sorts as Ja Morant began the season suspended and then suffered a season-ending injury. The Grizzlies could look to turn the lottery pick into a veteran contributor.

Memphis, however, isn't determined to trading the pick and instead "will look at everything."

With the 2024 NBA draft considered one of the weaker ones in recent memory, the trade packages for No. 9 could be limited. 

The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to hire Josh Longstaff on the coaching staff of Charles Lee.

Longstaff most recently was an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls under Billy Donovan.

Longstaff has also worked under Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks and as a G League head coach.

While Tim Connelly is likely the Detroit Pistons' top candidate to run their front office and Jon Horst will not be made available for an interview, a number of other candidates have emerged.

Trajan Langdon, Dennis Lindsey and Marc Eversley are among the potential candidates for the Pistons, sources tell James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic. 

Langdon is currently general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans under David Griffin.

Lindsey is in an advisory role with the Dallas Mavericks. 

Eversley is general manager of the Chicago Bulls under Arturas Karnisovas. Eversley was a candidate for the Pistons in 2020 before they hired Troy Weaver.

The Detroit Pistons plan on pursuing Tim Connelly to run their front office, sources tell James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic. 

Connelly is expected to opt out of his contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves even if he intends to stay with the franchise. Connelly is considered likely to return to the Wolves, but an offer from the Pistons worth approximately $15 million per season could sway the decision. 

The Wolves hired Connelly away from the Denver Nuggets in 2022, but he has an opt-out this offseason. 

The Milwaukee Bucks denied permission from the Pistons to interview Jon Horst for the job.

The San Antonio Spurs are expected to pursue a point guard this offseason to add alongside Victor Wembanyama, with one potential target believed to be Trae Young. Wembanyama is believed to at least be "intrigued" by the possibility of the Spurs trading for Young.

"I will say I've talked to people who know Wemby who have indicated he is at least intrigued by that idea," said Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast. "Now, intrigued by that idea and pounding the table are two very different things. I have no idea whether Gregg Popovich would be intrigued by the idea."

"He's not classically a Popovich player, Trae Young," said Brian Windhorst.

The theory of the Spurs trading for Young is that he would vastly improve their offense, while Wembanyama is a special enough defensive player to help reduce Young's defensive limitations. 

San Antonio is in a unique situation to trade for Young as they own two lottery picks in this year's draft and also control Atlanta's draft for the next three years. 

The Atlanta Hawks are considered more likely to trade Trae Young than Dejounte Murray this offseason. The Hawks shopped Murray at this season's trade deadline, but decided not to make a deal involving him.

"The Atlanta Hawks are candidates to make a trade this offseason," said Brian Windhorst. "With likely Trae Young. I won't rule out Dejounte Murray, but I think they're keeping Dejounte Murray."

Young is believed to have more trade value across the league than Murray and is also on a far more expensive contract as the Hawks look to decrease salary. 

The Hawks won the lottery on Sunday, which allows them to reset their roster but also automatically increases their salary obligations. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to ramp up the process of hiring their next head coach this week. The Lakers, like all teams, are in Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine this week. Los Angeles is expected to begin asking permission to interview assistant coaches, while also deciding what other candidates to bring in. Two prominent candidates for the Lakers are James Borrego and JJ Redick.

Borrego is currently an assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans. Before joining the Pelicans, he was the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets for four seasons. Borrego went 138-163 with Charlotte, but his team improved to 43-39 in his final season in 2021-22. While with the Pelicans, Borrego has been credited with improving the offense, which has seen New Orleans play through Zion Williamson more often.

Redick has no coaching experience. He retired as a player in 2021. Since then, Redick has worked in the media as a podcast host, studio analyst and now as an analyst on ESPN's top announcing team. Teams respect Redick's understanding of the game, and his approach of marrying analytics to traditional tactics. Redick is also respected by Lakers star LeBron James, who co-host a basketball podcast with the former NBA shooting guard.