As the Los Angeles Lakers continue to move forward under a new regime led by Darvin Ham, now is the time to begin filling out his coaching staff. It would be smart for the Lakers to fill the staff with proven commodities under a first-time coach like Ham and they took a step in that direction on Monday.
The first hire to Ham’s staff will be his former teammate with the Detroit Pistons, and 4-time All-Star, Rasheed Wallace. The two of them played together in Detroit when the Pistons knocked off the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals.
Wallace was an assistant coach for the Pistons during the 2013-14 season and he spent the 2021-22 season at the University of Memphis as an assistant under Penny Hardaway.
Sources: Four-time NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace has agreed on a deal to be an assistant coach for the Lakers under new head coach Darvin Ham. Both were teammates in Detroit and part of the 2004 title team. Memphis‘ Penny Hardaway hinted today Wallace may join Ham in LA.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 6, 2022
Wallace has a lot of experience as an NBA player and he went to battle with LeBron James plenty of times in the playoffs. He is a respected person in the league, despite his controversial comments about James, and this is a move that should work out on the floor for the Lakers.