New Lakers coach Darvin Ham has informed assistant coaches David Fizdale, Mike Penberthy and John Lucas III that they will not be retained, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Ham has been in discussions with several potential replacements since landing the Lakers job a few weeks ago, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
As we relayed previously, former Pistons teammate and current Memphis assistant Rasheed Wallace is expected to join Ham in LA, though nothing is finalized.
“That’s an active situation, that’s still fluid,” Ham told reporters of the Wallace rumors. “We’re still working through that. He’s definitely a candidate that we’ll take a look at.”
Ham did shed some light on what type of assistants the Lakers are seeking overall.
“Where I come from the last nine years (under Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer), we did everything — we did player development, we did scouting, I had to step in as the head coach on a few occasions,” Ham said at his introductory press conference. “But it was a team. There weren’t any coordinators on either side of the ball. We all pitched in on all aspects. … So I’m looking to build a similar type of staff.”
Fizdale is the most notable of the assistants to be let go. The former coach of the Grizzlies, he is said to be especially close with Lakers star LeBron James, dating back to their time together with the Heat.
“We have a list of names,” Ham said, adding that some are currently under contract elsewhere. “We’re working through that to try to put together the best staff possible.”
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