Lakers Making Big Coaching Staff Changes For 2022-23 Season

Newly appointed Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is already making some big changes to the team’s coaching staff ahead of the 2022-23 season.

After one of the more disappointing seasons in franchise history, everyone knew that big changes were coming to the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.

With Frank Vogel out as head coach after three seasons with the team, Milwaukee Bucks’ assistant Darvin Ham was hired by the Lakers in May to be the new head coach. On Monday, Ham was officially introduced as Los Angeles’ head coach.

Heading into the 2022-23 season, the Lakers’ front-office are definitely going to be busy try to reshape their roster around All-Stars LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, but Ham has already started making some changes to the team's bench in regards to the coaching staff.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that three assistant coaches from Frank Vogel's staff — David Fizdale, Mike Penberthy and John Lucas III — will not be back with the Lakers as part of Darvin Ham’s coaching staff.

While a handful of big names are heading out the door in Los Angeles, Ham is retaining assistant coach Phil Handy, who has been with the Lakers since the start of the 2019-20 season.

Phil Handy, one of the top assistants in the league, has accepted the invitation of new Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham to be a part of his coaching staff, league sources tell @YahooSports.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 7, 2022

As to what changes could be made to the roster this offseason, there are still a lot of unknowns pertaining to GM Rob Pelinka and this front-office. Russell Westbrook’s situation continues to loom large over the franchise, but with Ham’s focus on finding success with the team’s three All-Stars, it is safe to assume that Westbrook, Davis and James will be the three focal points of the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the 2022-23 season.

The Lakers are coming off a year in which they went 33-49, missing the playoffs for the seventh time in the last nine seasons and the first time since winning the NBA Finals in 2020. Darvin Ham is now the eighth Lakers’ head coach since the start of the 2010-11 season.