D-Fenders' Madsen, Lewis promoted to Lakers staff

Published Jul. 19, 2013 4:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

Just two months after he was hired as the Los Angeles D-Fenders head coach, Mark Madsen has already moved on to bigger things. The Lakers announced Thursday that both he and D-Fenders assistant coach Larry Lewis will leave the D-League to serve as player development coaches with the Lakers next season.

"Both Mark and Larry bring a high level of credibility to our staff," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said in a statement. "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."

Madsen, who played three seasons with the Lakers from 2000-03, returned to Los Angeles this spring after spending a season working as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Stanford. He also spent 2009-10 as an assistant with the D-League's Utah Flash.

Lewis spent the past two seasons with the D-Fenders, his first year as head of player development and his second as an assistant coach. Lewis played professionally overseas, in the CBA and in the USBL.

In the statement announcing the hires, D-Fenders president Joey Buss touted Madsen and Lewis's player development skills, which will be crucial in their new roles in the NBA.

"Both (Mark) and Larry, who has done a tremendous job working with our players over the past two seasons, are perfect examples of what the D-Fenders are all about; namely developing talent," Buss said. "Having sent eight players to the NBA over the past two seasons, we're excited to now see the synergy of the Lakers and D-Fenders pay off in the coaching ranks as well."

Both Madsen and Lewis are helping coach the Lakers' summer league squad in Las Vegas.