Lakers Add to Coaching Staff

Oct.1, 2012, 2012; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) is interviewed by Kurt Rambis during media day at the Los Angeles Lakers Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially hired Mark Madsen and Larry Lewis as player development coaches. Madsen, who was set to be the L.A. D-Fenders head coach, played for the Lakers for three years — 2001-2003. Here’s what coach Mike D’Antoni had to say about Madsen and Lewis:

"“Both Mark and Larry bring a high level of credibility to our staff. Mark has endless energy and is a workaholic. He’s developed players at the college level and I think he’ll do a great job making the jump to the NBA. Larry has proven to be a natural at helping develop players for the D-Fenders since transitioning from nearly two decades of playing abroad and in the CBA. We expect that he will make a great player development coach at the NBA level as well.”"

It’s nice to hear those kinds of words about new hires, especially when they are going to be developing the future of the team.

Mark Madsen’s experience includes being an assistant coach the Utah Flash of the D-League, he was the assistant coach at Stanford University, and, of course, he played for the Lakers.

Larry Lewis, on the other hand, has a bit more experience when it comes to player development. Lewis spent this past season as the assistant coach of the L.A. D-Fenders, was the player development coach before that, and was also an assistant coach on the 2012 NBA D-League Select Team. Along with coaching, Lewis also played on a bunch on international squads: Dominican Republic, Argentina, Spain, Great Britain, Japan, and Cyprus.