Suns reportedly add South Bay Lakers coaches Miles Simon, John Lucas III to staff
Jun 17, 2023, 8:13 PM | Updated: Jun 18, 2023, 8:12 pm
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 21:Los Angeles Lakers assistant Miles Simon before the Memphis Grizzlies vs Los Angeles Lakers game at Staples Center on Friday February 21, 2020. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns have reportedly added South Bay Lakers head coach Miles Simon and assistant John Lucas III to their staff, according to TNT’s Chris Haynes.
Both coaches were assistants under Phoenix’s new head coach Frank Vogel in Los Angeles with the Lakers.
Simon played and won one national championship with the Arizona Wildcats from 1994-98. He played one season in the NBA with the Orlando Magic as well as five seasons overseas.
He was eventually brought on as an assistant coach on Lute Olson’s staff with the Wildcats in 2005.
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Simon joined ESPN as an analyst before being added to Vogel’s staff in Los Angeles in 2017 and was part of the NBA Finals win in 2020. He was then named the head coach of South Bay in 2021.
Lucas played professional basketball from 2005-17 before joining the Minnesota Timberwolves as a player development coach in 2017.
He stayed in Minnesota until he packed his bags to join Vogel in L.A. in 2021. He was eventually let go when Darvin Ham was named the head coach of the Lakers last offseason.
Simon and Lucas will now join the star-studded assistant coaching staff alongside Kevin Young and David Fizdale.
Additionally, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Monday that the Suns were “closing in” on adding Dallas Mavericks assistant Quinton Crawford to their staff as well.
