After hiring Darvin Ham as their next head coach, the Los Angeles Lakers now need to work with him to build out his staff for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
Ham has already indicated the type of scheme and identity he wants to imprint on the Lakers, so finding a staff that can support him is going to be key to turning the team around. There are several candidates that could be had, but so far there have not been many reports about possible candidates to fill out the front of the bench.
Originally, assistants Phil Handy and Quinton Crawford had accepted invitations to stay on with Ham. But it looks Crawford is actually going to be moving on to the Dallas Mavericks, according to Brad Turner of L.A. Times:
Quinton Crawford is leaving the Lakers as an assistant coach to join Dallas coach Jason Kidd's staff, sources said. Crawford is viewed as an up-coming/ bright coach in the NBA. He was an assistant under Frank Vogel with the Lakers the past 3 seasons; was on staff for 2020 title.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 17, 2022
Jason Kidd spent a couple of seasons as the associate head coach next to Frank Vogel on the Lakers but left to become the head coach for the Mavericks. In Kidd’s first season, he led Dallas to the Western Conference Finals, installing a scheme that made them one of the best defensive units in the league.
Crawford got his start in the NBA as a video coordinator for the Sacramento Kings, before moving on to work for the Charlotte Hornets. He eventually made his way to the Orlando Magic where he spent two seasons with Vogel and followed the former Lakers head coach to Los Angeles.
With Crawford joining Kidd, Los Angeles will have to fulfill another spot on their sideline and as of now, no replacements have been identified. It will be interesting to see which names pop up in their search in the coming weeks.
Rasheed Wallace a candidate to join Lakers coaching staff
As a former player, Ham may look to fulfill his bench with previous head coaches to surround himself with experience. However, it also seems like he is open to reuniting with former teammates as Rasheed Wallace is reportedly a candidate for an assistant role with the Lakers.
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