No two seasons are the same, but the Lakers will look completely different with a new coaching staff heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
They fired Darvin Ham after two seasons, along with all assistant coaching staff members, including player and fan favorite Phil Handy.
The search for a head coach continues, but the Lakers seem to be “zeroing in” on JJ Redick. Regarding who the assistants sitting alongside the new head coach will be, Dan Woike of the LA Times hinted on the Roggin and Rodney show that the front office would be involved in that process.
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“I think the front office is going to be more involved with staffing than they were with Darvin Ham and it seems like they’re going to put more resources behind it financially, too.
If Redick does get the job, it makes sense that the Lakers would want to ensure that his staff is filled with veteran assistants to help guide the first-time coach.
Some names connected with the Lakers as potential assistants include Scott Brooks, Rajon Rondo, and James Borrego, who also reportedly had an in-person interview with the Lakers for the head coaching position.
This trio has plenty of NBA experience, with Brooks and Borrego spending years on NBA benches and Rondo expressing interest in coaching when he was a Laker.
Brooks has head coaching experience, having been in charge of the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2008-15 and has been an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021.
Borrego was the interim coach for the Orlando Magic in 2015 and the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022. He has been an assistant for the New Orleans Pelicans since 2023.
With many of these suggested names having rich NBA backgrounds, it’s good that the Lakers are willing to dole out some money because they will likely have high asking prices.
With no cap on what you can spend on the coaching staff, the Lakers can invest in this department in ways they haven’t before.
Hopefully, they will hire the best person they can find to be the next head coach and provide a supporting staff to prepare this team to win as many games as possible for the upcoming season.
