A Full, Updated List of JJ Redick's Lakers Coaching Staff

Breaking down the names that will join the rookie head coach in Los Angeles next season.

Jul 2, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick at a press conference at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

One of the many fascinating aspects of JJ Redick becoming the Los Angeles Lakers head coach is who he will hire to make up his coaching staff. For a rookie head coach such as Redick, it is crucial to find experienced names who understand all the responsibilities being the head honcho entails.

But Redick's unique background means there are no obvious candidates. Unlike many first-time hires, he didn't come from a coaching tree or school of thought that would point to obvious names to bring aboard. Redick is, in many ways, a blank slate— for better and for worse.

After getting hired in late June, Redick will presumably spend most of the coming months cobbling together a coaching staff that can help shape his vision of what the Lakers can be. Here you'll find all the names confirmed to be joining his staff and rumors about who might be next.

Scott Brooks

On July 3, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan would be "top assistants" on Redick's staff. Usually NBA coaching staffs have one assistant who is the head coach's right hand man (for example, Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee spent last season as Joe Mazzulla's top assistant, and has since been replaced by Sam Cassell). So it's unclear if Redick is straying from the usual tendencies and will lean on both men equally, or if there will be another hire who will fill that role.

Regardless of how that shakes out, Redick brought in significant experience with Brooks. Brooks was head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2009-2016, bringing the young Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook/James Harden core to the 2012 NBA Finals. He then spent five seasons as head coach of the Washington Wizards before spending the last three years as Chauncey Billups' lead assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Brooks has nearly 1,000 games under his belt as a head coach and made it to at least the second round of the playoffs in five seasons. The combination of regular season and postseason experience makes him a great add, especially since he's spent the last few years in a similar role in Portland.

Nate McMillan

The other top assistant hired on July 3, McMillan boasts similar coaching experience to Brooks combined with an NBA background. He played point guard for 12 years with the Seattle SuperSonics and battled against the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. McMillan's head coaching career began in 2000, when he led Seattle until 2005.

From there he went to Portland, coaching the Trail Blazers from 2005-2012, at which point he joined Frank Vogel's coaching staff in Indianapolis. in 2016, McMillan took over for Vogel and coached the Pacers until 2020. The same thing happened at his next stop in Atlanta; McMillan was hired as an assistant to Lloyd Pierce, but was named interim head coach once Pierce was fired in March of 2021. He lasted two years and was fired in the middle of the 2023 season.

McMillan's teams consistently competed hard enough to make the postseason; he has 11 playoff appearances over his 19 seasons as head coach. However, he only made it out of the first round twice. Ultimately he has close to 1,500 games' worth of head coaching experience, which is a far more important quality than whatever stopped his teams from making consistently deep playoff runs during his career.

Other Rumored Targets

As of writing, Brooks and McMillan are the only confirmed hires on Redick's coaching staff. One target, Dwane Casey, recently withdrew his name from consideration, according to reports.

Alvin Gentry

Just before the new hires were announced, Brad Turner of the L.A. Times reported the Lakers were interested in adding Alvin Gentry to the staff. Gentry is a true veteran of the coaching game, having been on NBA benches in various roles since 1988. He was head coach of the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, and the New Orleans Pelicans; most recently he served as the interim head coach for the Sacramento Kings after Luke Walton was fired.

Gentry has spent the last two and a half seasons in the Kings' front office, which gives him even more perspective to offer Redick should he end up on his staff.