Lakers Have New Plan for Handling Assistant Coach Hires

How Los Angeles will approach filling out its bench.

Apr 28, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka looks on prior to game six of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers apparently have a new plan for how they'll handle the hiring process for their assistant coaches, in the wake of firing not just ex-head coach Darvin Ham but also all of his assistant coaches.

During a recent appearance on the Roggin and Rodney show, The Los Angeles Times' Dan Woike revealed that the Lakers will have more direct oversight with regards to building out their benches.

“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," Woike said.

This tactic first became noticeable during the current L.A. front office regime's 2019 hiring process, in which the Lakers tried to insist on the hiring of Jason Kidd as an assistant coach. Though Tyronn Lue balked at the prospect, Frank Vogel proved amenable, and the Kidd-Vogel pairing went surprisingly smoothly, en route to the Lakers' most recent title, captured during their first season together in 2020.

15-year former NBA sharpshooter-turned-ESPN commentator JJ Redick appears to be the frontrunner to become the Lakers' newest head coach. Former players Rajon Rondo and Jared Dudley, New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego (also a contender for the head coaching gig still) and former Oklahoma City Thunder/Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks are all supposedly in the running to join the Lakers as potential assistant coaches.

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