Bernie Bickerstaff, Chuck Person not retained by Lakers

Assistant coaches Bernie Bickerstaff and Chuck Person were told Monday they would not be retained by the Lakers for next season.

Bickerstaff was 4-1 in relief of Mike Brown last November, the longtime veteran serving as a brief bridge from Brown to Mike D’Antoni.

Person was the last connection to Phil Jackson’s staff. He stayed on when Brown was hired in May 2011 and also was retained by D’Antoni. He was primarily responsible for defense under Jackson and Brown, though his role changed under D’Antoni.

D’Antoni retained all of Brown’s assistants after being hired by the Lakers but a slimming of the staff seemed inevitable after the season.

Dan D’Antoni, Steve Clifford, Darvin Ham and Phil Handy are still on the Lakers’ staff.

Former Clippers and Phoenix Suns Coach Alvin Gentry is a longtime Mike D’Antoni acquaintance and appears to be a logical hire as an assistant if he doesn’t get a head coaching job with another team.

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