Overview
- Sources reported Friday that the Los Angeles Lakers have elevated South Bay head coach Zach Guthrie to an NBA assistant on JJ Redick’s staff and named him head of player development.
- Guthrie earned the promotion after two seasons with the G League affiliate that included a 26-10 regular season and a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2025-26.
- Guthrie brings prior NBA assistant experience with the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Wizards and previously worked with Redick during Redick’s final playing season with the Mavericks.
- The promotion creates a vacancy for the South Bay/soon-to-be Coachella Valley Lakers head coach and raises questions about how existing development roles such as Ty Abbott’s will be redefined.
- Team coverage notes the timing follows a broader offseason overhaul under new ownership and roster turnover, which increases the practical value of developing homegrown, cost-controlled contributors from the G League.