Ten days after JJ Redick was named coach, the Lakers still haven't announced a single assistant! Redick and Pelinka have leads, and they're making multiple phone calls, but for now, it's dead quiet. When contacted, Dwane Casey has just withdrawn his name from the list of potential assistants, and it's apparently for family reasons.
But the Lakers have a plan B, and the LA Times announces that they are now targeting Alvin Gentry. Former right-hand man of Steve Kerr at the Warriors, he will be 70 years old in November, and he has a lot of experience as a coach, whether it be with the Pistons, the Clippers, the Suns, the Pelicans or the Kings. In the NBA for 35 years, Gentry has the distinction of having coached Anthony Davis and JJ Redick at the Pelicans, and that could be an asset for the Lakers.
Cut by the Kings in 2022, after serving as interim coach behind Luke Walton, Gentry serves as vice president of basketball engagement for the Kings. For the past two years, he has overseen the franchise's investment in various basketball programs outside of the NBA.
