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.
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(for example, Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee spent last season as Joe Mazzulla's top assistant, and has since been replaced by Sam Cassell).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.
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.
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.
Currently, the Lakers have reportedly hired Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks as top assistant coaches and added Greg St. Jean, Bob Beyers, and Lindsey Harding, G League Coach of the Year, to join Redick's coaching staff.
JJ Redick reportedly hires Lindsey Harding as Lakers' first-ever female assistant coach. Lindsey Harding is joining JJ Redick's coaching staff with the Los Angeles Lakers, per multiple reports.
There have been 26 head coaches for the Lakers since joining the NBA. The franchise's first head coach while in the NBA was John Kundla, who coached for 11 seasons with the Lakers. The Lakers won four additional NBA championships in the next five years under Kundla.
Johnson returned to the NBA as coach for the Lakers near the end of the 1993–94 NBA season, replacing Randy Pfund, and Bill Bertka, who served as an interim coach for two games. Johnson, who took the job at the urging of owner Jerry Buss, admitted "I've always had the desire (to coach) in the back of my mind."
The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a deal to hire JJ Redick as the franchise's next coach, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, ending a drawn-out search for one of the NBA's premier jobs.
The Los Angeles Lakers and JJ Redick have agreed to a four-year deal to make the 39-year-old former NBA player the team's new head coach, team sources said Thursday. The contract is in the neighborhood of $8 million per season, according to sources briefed on the deal.
Many of the best L.A. Lakers coaches once played for the team themselves. Who are the best Lakers coaches ever? Phil Jackson has won more titles than any other coach in NBA history, including five championships with the L.A. Lakers. His “zen” approach to basketball has made him a legend in Lakers history.
Notably, they share the distinction with the Boston Celtics, both boasting a record 17 NBA championships. This achievement underscores the Lakers' status as a powerhouse in professional basketball. Jeanie Buss is the owner of the LA Lakers.
His current contract pays him $5.25 million per year, making him one of college basketball's highest-paid coaches. However, current top-paying NBA head coaching contracts range from $9.5 million a year (Steve Kerr, Warriors) to $16 million a year (Gregg Popovich, Spurs).
Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973.
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Introduction: My name is Arielle Torp, I am a comfortable, kind, zealous, lovely, jolly, colorful, adventurous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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