By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Los Angeles Lakers announced Frank Vogel’s staff for the 2019-20 season on Wednesday. Aside former NBA head coaches, Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins, Phil Handy, Miles Simon and Mike Penberthy, all with various European stints during their playing careers, assumed coaching roles at the Lakers.
Penberthy, 44, NBA Champion with the Lakers in 2001, played in Europe between 2002 and 2008 winning the German Cup with ALBA Berlin in 2006.
Simon, 43, made his way to Israel, Italy and Turkey from 2000 to 2004. On his part, Handy competed in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Israel and Great Britain.
Per Lakers: “The Los Angeles Lakers have named Jason Kidd, Lionel Hollins, Phil Handy, Miles Simon, Mike Penberthy and Quinton Crawford as assistant coaches on Head Coach Frank Vogel’s staff, it was announced today. Also named to Vogel’s staff are Greg St. Jean as player development coach/advance scout, Dru Anthrop as head video coordinator/player development coach, and Jon Pastorek, as assistant video coordinator/player development coach.
“I could not be more excited about the group we’ve assembled,” said Vogel. “Each of these guys brings a unique set of skills and experiences that will greatly impact the success of our players, as we look to build a championship-caliber team.”
Kidd most recently served as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014-18, amassing a 139-152 record. Prior to his time in Milwaukee, Kidd spent the 2013-14 season as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, leading the team to a 44-38 record while earning two Eastern Conference Coach of the Month awards.
Hollins owns a career record of 262-272 as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets, and returns to an NBA bench for the first time since 2015-16. A four-time Western Conference Coach of the Month and the winningest coach in Grizzlies’ franchise history (214-201), Hollins coached Memphis to a franchise-best 56-26 record and advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2012-13. He has also served as an assistant for Memphis, the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns.
Handy joins the Lakers staff after serving as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors last season, following five seasons in the same role with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2013-18). Overall, he has coached in each of the last five NBA Finals, winning titles with the Raptors and Cavaliers in 2019 and 2016, respectively. A native of San Leandro, Handy returns to the Lakers after spending 2011-13 as an assistant coach.
Simon returns for his third season with the Lakers after playing a key role in the team’s on-court development and game preparation. Simon has coached each of the Lakers last two entries in the Las Vegas Summer League, advancing to the 2018 championship game. He’s previously worked with Team USA and has been the director of the Nike Basketball Academy since 2015, while also working with ESPN as a college basketball analyst.
Penberthy was a member of the New Orleans Pelicans staff during each of the last two seasons. He previously worked as a private trainer for some of the league’s top talent and was an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014-15. Penberthy played two seasons for the Lakers from 2000-02 and was a member of the 2001 championship team.
Crawford served as head video coordinator/player development coach for the Hornets last season and was in the same role for the Orlando Magic during the 2017-18 campaign, after spending the 2016-17 season with Orlando as assistant video coordinator. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona, with a master’s degree in education from Pepperdine University.
St. Jean spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at St. John’s University, primarily managing scouting, game preparation, player development and video operations. Prior to his time in Queens, St. Jean was a member of the Sacramento Kings player development and video staffs from 2013-15 and was a basketball operations summer intern for the New Jersey Nets in 2012.
Anthrop joins the staff after serving last season as assistant video coordinator/player development assistant for the Grizzlies. From 2016-18, he worked under Vogel with the Magic as special assistant to the head coach and assistant video coordinator. Anthrop also spent a season with St. John’s as a graduate assistant and was a basketball film coordinating intern for the Indiana Pacers from 2013-15.
Pastorek returns for his third season with the Lakers and his second as assistant video coordinator/player development coach. He assists with the team’s gameday preparation and on-court development, and most recently was a member of the 2019 summer league coaching staff.”