The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most interesting franchises currently because they have assistant coaches that legit could be head coaches.
Lionel Hollins is the elderstatesman of the bunch. NBA Hall of Famer, Jason Kidd has had coaching experience with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks and then you have Phil Handy.
Handy is a rising star in the NBA coaching ranks and someone that you should be paying attention to.
Handy is a two time NBA Champion as an assistant coach and has been on the bench during five consecutive NBA Finals.
For those keeping score at home: Handy has had four appearances with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-2018 with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Handy also had one appearance with last year’s NBA Champion, Toronto Raptors.
Appearing on this week’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Handy and I discussed his future and Jason Kidd.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 08: Phil Handy gives instructions during a training session with Melbourne United at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre on August 8, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Phil Handy on one day becoming an NBA head coach:
“I’m a very organic dude and I think my journey to this point has been great. I’m asked all the time, ‘When are you? When are you?’ and my answer to that is, “When the time is right.” I don’t have a blueprint. I don’t have a road map. The only thing I control as Jason said, ‘I want to be the BEST assistant coach that I can be every day.’ And so my focus is on my job, the process in front of me, and doing that, I continue growing and I continue to learn and when that day comes, somebody thinks that I’m the right man for the organization and I feel like that’s the right organization for me, I’ll be ready. But there’s no timeline for that. I’m just doing my job Scoop. So whenever that happens, I’ll be ready.”
Phil Handy on Los Angeles Lakers Assistant Coach Jason Kidd:
“Yeah man, I’ve known J since we were in high school. So our history goes back to Oakland. But I think just his mind; Jason has a really unique mind to the game of basketball and his perspective of interacting with players and coaching. He’s got a unique mindset approaching the game and how he looks at the game from a player’s side and a coach’s side so, being able to see and listen and learn how he thinks and see the game, that’s been big for me because I’m always trying to grow and learn and you know, continue to see how other people view the game and their stratagies so, just his mindset man, that has been really big for me; how he approaches the game from a player’s standpoint and a coach’s standpoint. Having being somebody that played in the league for a long time and then went right into head coaching. I also liked what Jason said to me one day that was really profound and that when he retired, he went straight into being a head coach, right? And so he said to me, “Phil man, I just want to learn to be a good assistant coach. I didn’t have the opportunity to do that in Brooklyn when I took that job. So, I didn’t know what assistant coaches do. I want to really learn it, kill it and I think that it will help me be a better head coach.”… and that was profound in that he really wanted to go through that process.
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Lakers’ Jason Kidd Wants to Be ‘Better’ Head Coach Reveals Phil Handy