It looks like the Los Angeles Lakers want to have a greater focus on the development of young players moving forward. They hired a young head coach in JJ Redick, and they also brought in Beau Levesque to be a player development assistant coach and Ty Abbott to be their lead player development coach.
A sizable part of developing young players in the NBA is having a strong G League program. This past season, Dane Johnson was the head coach of the South Bay Lakers, and he was also tasked with being the head coach of the organization’s summer league team.
However, the organization has now reportedly parted ways with him.
The South Bay Lakers have parted ways with Head Coach Dane Johnson.
Johnson led South Bay to a 26-24 overall record in the 2023-24 G League season. During his tenure as head coach, four players earned NBA Call-Ups.
— South Bay Lakers (@SouthBayLakers) August 9, 2024
Johnson’s G League Lakers had a mediocre 26-24 record this past season. However, rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis played well, and big man Colin Castleton had his moments.
Lewis and Castleton also played for the Lakers in summer league last month, yet they lost all three games in the California Classic and went just 3-2 in the main Las Vegas summer league.