Last Friday the Los Angeles Lakers announced the hiring's of Eddie Jordan, Steve Clifford and Bernie Bickerstaff as assistant coaches for the 2012-13 season. The new trio will be joining returning assistants Darvin Ham and Chuck Person to complete Mike Brown's coaching staff.
It's hard to get excited over assistant coaches being hired, but let's take a look at where each of the new coaches has been and what they all bring to the table.
Eddie Jordan: Of all the team's new coaching hires, Jordan will be playing the biggest role next season. The main reason, if not the only reason, he was sought out by the organization was his knowledge of the Princeton offense. It was announced earlier this summer the Lakers would be running a variation of this offense in 2012-13.
Given the uncertainty of the offense and the expectations surrounding the Lakers next season, Jordan is under the microscope a little more than assistants usually are. But even if the Lakers don't succeed running the Princeton, it doesn't mean they will completely fall apart on offense, and at the very least, will have a solid assistant in Jordan.
Steve Clifford: Steve Clifford has spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic. Before his role with the Magic, Clifford was an assistant with the Knicks (2000 to 2003) and the Rockets (2003-2007).
Clifford has spent the majority of his career as an assistant serving under the Van Gundy brothers (Jeff in New York and Houston, Stan in Orlando).
So in case you haven't put the pieces together, Clifford's time with the Van Gundy brothers means he knows how to coach defense. Also his time spent with Dwight Howard in Orlando could prove to be invaluable as well.
Bernie Bickerstaff: Bernie Bickerstaff's coaching career began in 1973, when he served as an assistant in Washington. Since then, Bickerstaff has had stints as the head coach in Seattle, Denver, Washington and Charlotte. The Kentucky native also worked as general manager in Denver (1990-1997) and in Charlotte (2004-2007).
Having nearly 40 years of NBA experience on your bench is beneficial to any NBA team, even one as loaded as the Lakers. Bickerstaff shouldn't have any problems hitting things off with Coach Brown, either. Both spent their college days at the University of San Diego.
