Bucks Zone

The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring another ex-Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach

DeMarre Carroll is set for a reunion with fellow ex-Milwaukee Bucks deputy coach Darvin Ham.
Matthew Dugandzic|
© Ebony Cox / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Another former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach is joining the Los Angeles Lakers. Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that the Lakers are hiring DeMarre Carroll as an assistant coach.

Reunion of sorts

In Los Angeles, Carroll will be reunited with Darvin Ham, who worked as an assistant coach in Milwaukee before getting a head coaching gig with the Lakers. Ham moved to the Lakers in 2022, while Carroll worked under Mike Budenholzer last season.

It was not in Milwaukee that Carroll, Ham, and Budenholzer worked together under one team. Coach Bud, Darvin, and DeMarre were all in Atlanta in the 2014-2015 season when the Hawks finished with the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference at 60-22.

At the time, Budenholzer was the head coach of that team, with Ham as one of his assistants, and Carroll was the starting small forward.

Picked by the Memphis Grizzlies as the 27th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft, Carroll played 14 seasons in the NBA. DeMarre broke into coaching when he was hired as one of Budenholzer's assistant coaches in August 2022.

Massive revamp

Carroll was one of the casualties when the Bucks underwent a major facelift in its coaching crew, firing Budenholzer shortly after their shocking first-round playoff exit in the past season.

Milwaukee then hired former Adrian Griffin as their new head coach. It was a massive revamp in which the Bucks only retained two assistant coaches who worked under Budenholzer. Josh Oppenheimer and Vin Baker are the only ones that were retained from Budenholzer's staff.

Milwaukee’s coaching staff includes former Bucks coaches Terry Sotts and Joe Puntry, Patrick Mutumbo, Nate Mitchell, and DJ Bakker. Also, a part of the Milwaukee coaching staff is Sidney Dobner, who was promoted from head video coordinator to becoming the first woman assistant coach in franchise history.

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.