Now that the Los Angeles Lakers have officially hired JJ Redick to be their new head coach, their next immediate task is to fill out his staff with capable men.
It looks like their preference is to hire people with experience, preferably head coaching experience, to serve under him. It is something Darvin Ham, his predecessor, didn’t do.
Scott Brooks, who has not only been a head coach but has also been to the NBA Finals and coached superstars in that capacity, is a candidate, as are former Lakers players Rajon Rondo and Jared Dudley.
Someone else who could be hired is Miles Simon, who had previously been an assistant for the Lakers, according to insider Anthony Irwin.
Via Lakers Daily:
“Another name to keep an eye on is Miles Simon, who had previously worked with the Lakers on Luke Walton’s and Frank Vogel’s staffs, earning a championship ring for his role with the 2019-20 team,” wrote Irwin.
Simon was a star player, a national champion and the Most Outstanding Player of the 1997 NCAA tournament while at the University of Arizona. After a very brief pro playing career, he became a member of Luke Walton’s Lakers staff in 2017 and remained in that capacity under he was named the head coach of the G League’s South Bay Lakers in 2021.
Simon spent this season with Vogel on the Phoenix Suns until Vogel and his entire staff were fired after the Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.