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As NBA Draft week continues, new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has been busy on a different evaluation front: Interviewing and assembling the best coaching staff possible. And after hiring Chris Jent as his lead assistant and retaining the well-regarded Phil Handy, Ham has filled the final front-of-bench slot on his coaching staff with Nets assistant coach and offensive coordinator Jordan Ott.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news:
The Lakers are hiring Nets assistant coach Jordan Ott for Darvin Ham’s new staff, sources tell ESPN. Ott will move into a more prominent role on the front of LA’s bench.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2022
Can confirm Lakers are hiring Jordan Ott to be assistant coach on Darvin Ham staff. Ott had been assistant with Nets. Ott had been video coordinator with Hawks from 2013-16, same time Ham was an assistant there
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) June 22, 2022
Echoing Brian, I always enjoyed dealing with Jordan. Had a tough role as offensive coordinator with a lot of non-shooters playing heavy minutes. Steve Nash now has four open spots on his staff with one expected to go to Igor Kokoškov. https://t.co/GYWKiCdfqI
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) June 22, 2022
For a little more on Ott, here is what our sister site Nets Daily had to say about the coach Brooklyn is losing:
Ott, who joined the franchise in 2016, making him the longest-tenured assistant, served as Steve Nash’s offensive coordinator this past season. The former Nets assistant also coached Brooklyn’s Summer League team in Las Vegas last summer, finishing with a 3-2 record and a Co-MVP award for Cam Thomas (league-leading 27.0 points).
In regards to his role with the Lakers, it is unclear what exact capacity Ott will fill. Ham has said he wants all of his assistants to be able to do a bit of everything. However, teams are limited to three assistants on the front of their bench, so between Ott, Handy and Jent, those slots are now filled.
Before joining the Nets, Ott worked for five years as a video coordinator under Tom Izzo at Michigan State before leaving for the same title with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013, where he was eventually promoted to be an assistant coach. He also, according to a Nets Daily story from the time of his hiring in Brooklyn, has both bachelor's and master's degrees in sports management.
However, that doesn’t mean that Ham is done assembling his staff. News leaked earlier on Tuesday that he is bringing former Bucks video coordinator and player development coach Schuyler Rimmer with him to Los Angeles to join his staff, and his former teammate Rasheed Wallace is also reportedly still under consideration for a role. But courtesy of Woj, we now know those roles just won’t be at the front of the bench. With Ott in tow, those positions are now taken.
This story will be updated with more information and analysis as it continues to develop.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.
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