After two years of coaching continuity, the Lakers are continuing to shuffle their bench under Frank Vogel.
Assistant coach Lionel Hollins, a two-time former head coach who helped the team primarily on the defensive end, is out after two seasons, he confirmed to Southern California News Group. The opening on the front of the bench will allow Mike Penberthy, an assistant who has also been on staff for the past two years, to move up to one of the ranking coaches on staff.
The Athletic was the first to report that Hollins was out after he and the Lakers failed to agree to terms on a contract extension.
While Hollins did not go into the details of the end of his tenure with the Lakers, he told SCNG he was open to future coaching opportunities, and that he enjoyed his two-year run, which included the 2020 NBA championship.
Hollins had a more topsy-turvy ride than most with the Lakers: He did not join the team in the NBA bubble during the playoff run out of concern for underlying health issues and joined meetings and practices remotely. Hollins is 67 and was the veteran member on staff by a wide margin. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Hollins joined the team for most of this past season, missing a few games midseason due to a death in his family.
Hollins was previously a head coach in Memphis and Brooklyn, accumulating a 262-272 record with a 2013 appearance in the Western Conference finals with the Grizzlies. This season allowed him to reunite with Marc Gasol, who was his franchise player in Memphis.
Hollins’ departure opens an opportunity for Penberthy, who played for the Lakers during the 2000-2001 championship season as a guard. The 46-year-old started in the NBA as a shooting coach and is close with All-Star big man Anthony Davis, who is under contract with the Lakers through 2025.
It has been an offseason of change for the staff under Vogel, who is entering the final year of his contract with the opportunity for an extension in the coming months. Jason Kidd was hired to be Dallas’ head coach, and took with him Greg St. Jean, who has spent the past two years as the Lakers’ advance scout. Kidd was also interested in adding Penberthy to his staff, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to SCNG, before he was eventually promoted.
Earlier this month, the Lakers added David Fizdale, a former head coach in Memphis and New York, for the coming season though the team has not made an official announcement. Fizdale previously served as an assistant for the Miami Heat when LeBron James played there.
As of now, assistants Phil Handy, Miles Simon and Quinton Crawford are believed to be returning in the fall in their previous roles. Vogel has a 94-49 regular-season record with the Lakers, and the staff coached Team LeBron in the 2020 All-Star Game.
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