Phil Handy, a player development guru and a key figure on Darvin Ham's staff who works closely with LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura, said he's returning to the Los Angeles Lakers' bench next season.

Handy was rumored to be a candidate to join Frank Vogel's staff with the Phoenix Suns. Handy worked under Vogel for two seasons in Los Angeles, including on the 2020 championship squad. Handy won rings while on the bench for the Toronto Raptors (2019) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016). He developed close ties with LeBron and Kyrie Irving during his Cavs tenure.

“Don't believe everything you read,” Handy said before hosting a Lakers camp in Manila on Monday. “I'm under contract with the Lakers for the next two seasons. When Darvin came on, I signed a three-year extension. So, I'm in Laker land, baby.”

Handy and Ham's friendship dates back to 1996 when they won a title playing for the Florida Sharks of the United States Basketball League.

Handy has played an integral role in Reaves' development over the past two seasons. Reaves' ability to step into a larger on-ball, playmaking role after the trade deadline helped spark the Lakers' run from the No. 13 seed all the way to the Western Conference Finals (and may have earned Reaves $80-100 million in free agency).

“He’s fearless. He’s not afraid of the moment,” Handy said about Reaves, who will be playing for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup later this summer, some of which will take place in the Philippines. “He has a really big chip on his shoulder and he’s not afraid to work. For me as a coach, those are the things you should look for in an athlete. So to see him have success man, it’s really big for him and the organization … He was really a big part of our success this past season as we made a Playoff run.”

Rui Hachimura also made significant strides as a scorer and post-defender once he began working with Handy after being traded to the Lakers in late January. Reaves and Hachimura were the Lakers' third- and fourth-best players, respectively, during the postseason.

“I’ve been working out with Phil and Phil was always telling me how the playoffs were going to be, how those shots are going to be and how I’m going to be a really important part of this team,” Hachimura told the Orange County Register. “Mentally, I was getting ready for this, for this moment. I just like those big moments, those big games.”

Last week, Jon Pastorek, a player development coach and advanced scout who had spent the last six seasons with Los Angeles, joined Vogel's staff in Phoenix, as did South Bay Lakers' coach Miles Simon and John Lucas III — both of whom worked under Vogel in Los Angeles.