Lakers News: Team Adds Another to Coaching Staff

Several of the latter hires have been younger, less experienced coaches.

Frank Vogel’s bench is getting quite crowded.

Phil Handy, Mike Penberthy, Miles Simons, and Quinton Crawford were joined by newcomers David Fizdale and John Lucas III earlier this summer to assist Vogel as coaches in their quest to win two rings in three years. Although it seems like all the assistant coaches are finalized, the Lakers were not quite done with adding more help.

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers hired former WNBA player and LA native Shay Murphy as a coaching associate.

The Lakers have added former WNBA player Shay Murphy as a coaching associate, sources told ESPN. The L.A.-area native attended USC and had a pro career that spanned more than a decade overseas and in the WNBA, where she won a title with Phoenix in 2014. pic.twitter.com/CSzkd7pw0F

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 3, 2021

Coaching associates in the NBA are not official coaching titles. They are apprenticeship roles created in order to help prepare them for a potential advanced career in coaching.

Murphy last played with the San Antonio Stars in 2017, and ended up finishing her basketball career overseas in Spain with Uni Girona CB.

Drafted 15th overall by the Minnesota Lync in the 2007 WNBA Draft, the 37-year old was born in Canoga Park, and played basketball for the now defunct Montclair Prep in Van Nuys and USC for college. Playing as a journeywoman, Murphy enjoyed a professional basketball career spanning over a decade, including a seven-year career in the WNBA. In between the WNBA, she played for several seasons in the Euroleague, and won a WNBA title with the Phoenix Mercury.