Los Angeles Lakers hire John Kuester as an assistant coach – NBA Update
Former Detroit Pistons head coach John Kuester will join the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach next season, it has been confirmed. The Lakers announced the decision to reunite Kuester with former Cleveland Cavaliers and
current Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike Brown on Wednesday.
The duo had been together at the Cleveland Cavaliers where Mike Brown was the head coach of the LeBron James led Cavaliers. Kuester was an assistant to Brown and Brown labelled him the “offensive coordinator” of the side. Mike
Brown is known as a stringent defence specialist coach and his offensive creativity has been questioned by many. He has therefore often delegated duties in terms of offensive coaching to his assistants.
During Kuester’s time as Cleveland’s “offensive coordinator” back in the 2008-2009 season, the Cavaliers became the fourth best offensive team in the league. They had ranked 17th the previous year. Although many credit
the improvement in their offense to the addition of Mo Williams and Delonte West before that season, there is no doubt that Kuester is a pretty good offensive coach.
Mike Brown certainly trusts Kuester’s ability and was pleased that Kuester would be with him on the sidelines for the Lakers next season,
“I’m extremely excited to have John join the team as a member of my coaching staff,” Lakers coach Mike Brown said
He also pointed to the duo’s previous experience of operating side by side as a plus for the Lakers,
“Having previously worked together in Cleveland, I know what assets he will bring to the team. His ability to effectively communicate with the players while teaching them valuable skills on both ends of the court is a quality that
I respect and value. I look forward to working with him again.”
Kuester’s exploits with the Cleveland Cavaliers earned him a head coaching stint in 2009 with the Detroit Pistons. However, his time in Detroit was an abject failure to say the least. Kuester oversaw a period of internal strife
and on court underachievement for the Pistons. His reign there, also earned him the unwanted record of the Pistons being out of the playoffs for the longest stretch of time since the 1990s.
Kuester was involved in numerous altercations with his players while at Detroit. The senior players like Tracy McGrady and Richard Hamilton were particularly a problem for John and they repeatedly questioned his authority.
Bringing somebody with such personnel issues into a locker room already rife with volatile characters like super star Kobe Bryant and centre Andrew Bynum is looked upon as a risky move by many quarters. However, Mike Brown seems
to believe that Kuester’s input on offensive coaching is valuable enough to hire him despite of what happened in Detroit.
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