The inaugural season of the Coachella Valley Lakers is less than a month away, and the G League team held its first function at Acrisure Arena on Tuesday, holding an introductory press conference for Alex Cerda, who will be the first coach of the CV Lakers.
Cerda addressed the assembled media and sponsor representatives in the Chairman's Club at the arena, and the 35-year-old said when he got the call to be the head man for the Los Angeles Lakers G League team, the word that popped into his head was "gratitude."
"I said the word 'gratitude' that's the word that came to fruition in that moment," he said in an interview with The Desert Sun. "You think back and reflect on all the sacrifices and the journey that has all culminated in that moment (when
he got the call). It's a rewarding feeling and we're excited to be here and we're excited to get this thing going."
He will get this thing going officially on Nov. 6 when the G League schedule begins and the CV Lakers make their debut in a home game at Acrisure Arena against the Salt Lake City Stars.
Here are three takeaways from Cerda's first meeting with the media.
A summer in Canada was a coaching crash course
Cerda, who has been with the Lakers organization for three years as an assistant coach, had never been a head coach at any level until this summer when he went to the Canadian Elite Basketball League to coach the Brampton Honey Badgers.
Cerda took over a Honey Badgers team that finished in last place the previous year in the nine-team league.
"That experience really accelerated my growth as a coach," he said. "I took over a team that had won two games prior. They were the laughing stock of the league and I wanted to really change the culture there. It was the most fun I've had in coaching for a while. To have that opportunity as a head coach navigate the ebbs and flows of the season. We had success we had failure and ultimately made it to the championship game so I felt like saw a lot in a short time that encapsulated what it means to be a head coach."
Cerda adopted sort of a four-word mantra: Tough, passionate, unified and faithful. He said you can expect the CV Lakers to embody those tenets. "We're going to be unified, in the foxhole together and working toward a common goal," he said.
Cerda grew up in Texas, but is not a stranger to the desert
Cerda was raised in Texas, but his mother and stepfather, a military man, lived for a long time in Twentynine Palms. Cerda would often spend the summers with them.
"My stepdad and mom lived in Oceanside when he was at Camp Pendleton and then when i was about 15 they moved to Twentynine Palms and every summer I'd be coming out to the desert. So I know this area pretty well so to be here and being able to coach professional basketball in this area in front of my family. It's a surreal moment, a full-circle moment."
But being a Texas kid, Cerda's team was the Dallas Mavericks. He has a lot of love for the Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash Era squad. They are his favorite team ... well, his second favorite team.
"Definitely once you start working in professional sports, you're a fan of the team that employs you, so definitely love being a Laker," he said. "But I remember turning on my local TV station and seeing Dirk Nowitzki, that No. 41 in the royal blue and green jersey, Michael Finley, Steven Nash. To see them go from not being very good to NBA champs was everything for me as a teenager. I would always say MFFL, Mavs Fan For Life, but not anymore. Ha!"
Other revelations: Will the players on the team live in the desert?
Traveling: Coach Cerda said that the players and the coaches will continue to live in Los Angeles and commute to the desert for game days. That alleviates the need for finding a practice facility here in the desert and keeps the communication and the connection with the parent team Lakers more streamlined. Cerda did say, that next year, that may change. But for now Cerda and the players will get to know the I-10 corridor very well this winter.
Player roster: The roster is still in flux and not yet known, it's common for a G League roster to not be finalized until days or hours before the season opener as player movement is common. He did mention two players that have been with the team before (it was known as the South Beach Lakers before this season) and will be back this year.
Anton Watson, who played his college ball at Gonzaga who was drafted by the Celtics in 2024, will be on the CV Lakers as a forward. Cole Swider, a 6-foot-8 forward who was on the South Bay Lakers two years ago, is back with the franchise for 2026. Swider, who starred at Syracuse in college, had been playing in Turkey and will be on the CV Lakers this season.
Just the facts: Cerda is 35, married and has one daughter ... He went to college at University of Texas graduating with a degree in kinesiology in 2016 ... his first NBA gig was in the video department of the Los Angeles Clippers from 2018- 20 ... he did not play basketball at the college or pro level.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: First-ever CV Lakers coach Alex Cerda unveils his plan for new team
