The newly appointed head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Darvin Ham, has fired three assistant coaches.
David Fizdale, Mike Penberthy, and John Lucas III will not be retained on Ham’s staff, per a report from Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
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Assistant coach Phil Handy will stay on the staff.
Ham, 48, has reportedly been given autonomy over selecting the coaching staff.
The Lakers will certainly need to round out their bench with coaches capable of dealing with superstars, such as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook.
“Where I come from the last nine years, we did everything,” Ham said in regards to what he was looking for in coaches, via ESPN.
“We did player development. We did scouting. I had to step in as the head coach on a few occasions. But it was a team. It wasn’t coordinators on either side of the ball. We all pitched in on all aspects of our team basketball offensively and defensively. So, I’m looking to build that similar type of staff.”
Whoever Ham chooses, the expectations for the LeBron James-led Lakers are clear: championship or bust.
