Alex Cerda Leads the Lakers move to the Coachella Valley

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Alex Cerda was officially introduced as head coach of the Coachella Valley Lakers on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Cerda will lead the team in its first season in the Coachella Valley after moving from El Segundo.

The atmosphere Tuesday was one of pure joy and excitement. Multiple executives and Cerda were ecstatic about the move to the Coachella Valley and Acrisure Arena, where the team will make its season debut Friday, Nov. 6.

Cerda said he was ecstatic to start a new journey in his coaching career, which marks his first head coaching opportunity in the NBA G League. This past summer, Cerda served as head coach of the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

“When I think about this opportunity to be the head coach of the Coachella Valley Lakers, the word gratitude comes to mind,” Cerda said in his first public remarks as head coach. “Grateful for my family for their love and support over the years — I wouldn’t be here without them, especially my wife and my daughter. Grateful for the Lakers organization for trusting me with the responsibility to lead this team in this new market.”

Being head coach of the Coachella Valley Lakers is a “responsibility, not a reward” in Cerda's eyes.

“It’s a responsibility to serve our players, to do right by our staff, and ultimately to do right by the organization,” Cerda said. “Lastly, it’s a responsibility to put on a product that the Valley can be proud of and a team that they can get behind.”

Cerda and the Lakers look to build a sustainable product much like the Coachella Valley Firebirds, who in just a five-year span have built a massive brand identity in the region.

The word “development” will be heavily associated with Cerda as head coach. The G League serves as a proving ground for young basketball players trying to make the jump to the NBA.

“The city may change, but the job description doesn’t,” Cerda said. “Our job is to develop these players, get them to better basketball opportunities.”

When asked about conversations with Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka, Lakers head coach JJ Redick, and newly appointed Head of Player Development Zac Guthrie regarding developmental strategy, Cerda emphasized synchronization.

“Alignment is of the utmost importance,” Cerda said. “We have IDPs, which are individual development plans that we have for every player, that will work on certain things that will make them impact players. We meet with players quarterly and we track and measure their progress. We are very detailed with players' development, and part of that is coming here to the Coachella Valley and winning some basketball games.”

Cerda also explained the balance between managing player development and winning games.

“To develop players, you have to develop winning habits — holding players to a high standard,” Cerda said. “Our coaches speak with high clarity so they can have high performance. We truly believe that when you have success collectively as a team, right alongside that you’re going to have individual success as well. When we take care of business, when we’re winning games, then that means those players are finding better opportunities, which we intend to do here in Coachella.”

Tuesday’s news conference also provided insight into the culture Cerda looks to establish in the Coachella Valley.

“When I think about culture, I think about getting the right people on board,” Cerda said. “I also think about habits and instilling winning habits on a daily basis. That starts with preparing well.”

During his summer in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, Cerda established a culture centered on four distinct terms: tough, passionate, unified and thankful. The coaching staff will hold players accountable to those four core values.

Cerda anticipates a playing style that exhibits those four traits and yields a team the Coachella Valley will quickly embrace.

“We’re going to be a team that’s tough, that does the things that go into winning,” Cerda said. “We’re going to be passionate and the hardest-working and most competitive group on a nightly basis. Also, we’re going to be unified; we’re going to be in the foxhole together. We’re going to work collectively in reaching that one common goal, which is not only to have a winning season, but to be a champion at the end.”

The Coachella Valley is familiar territory for Cerda. His stepfather, a U.S. Marine for more than 20 years, was stationed in nearby Twentynine Palms when Cerda was 15 years old. Although Cerda lived with his father in Dallas, his summers were spent in the Coachella Valley.

“I know this area pretty well,” Cerda said. “To be able to coach professional basketball in this area in front of my family, it’s a surreal, full-circle moment.”

The Coachella Valley Lakers open their season Friday, Nov. 6, against the Salt Lake City Stars.

The game will be played at Acrisure Arena, home of the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The arena opened Dec. 14, 2022, and seats about 10,000 fans for basketball.

The Los Angeles Lakers played two preseason games in 2025 against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena. Both games drew more than 9,000 fans, including a crowd of 10,203 on Oct. 19, 2025.

The Lakers have a long history in the Palm Springs area. In 1979, then-Lakers owner Jerry Buss established Palm Springs as the team’s training camp site. The Lakers also held training camp in Palm Springs in 1981, 1983–1987, 1991 and 1997.

Now, the Lakers' G League affiliate and Cerda look to build their identity in the Coachella Valley, continuing the long-standing relationship between the organization and the region.