The Phoenix Suns recently asked and received permission from the Lakers to talk with assistant coach Steve Clifford about their vacant head-coaching position, according to Lakers spokesman John Black.

According to league sources, Clifford also interviewed with the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday and with the Milwaukee Bucks last Monday for their respective head-coaching spots. No offers were made and no follow-up interviews have been immediately scheduled.

Former Lakers coach Mike Brown hired Clifford, and was one of five assistants retained when D’Antoni took over following a 1-4 start. Clifford first started out in the NBA ranks as an advance scout for the New York Knicks (2000-01) before moving up as an assistant coach (2001-03) under Don Nelson. He then worked as an assistant for Jeff Van Gundy with the Houston Rockets (2003-2007) and for Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic (2007-2012).

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com

Lakers player development coach Phil Handy is expected to join Mike Brown’s coaching staff with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to league sources.

Handy hasn’t signed a contract yet, but he reached what a league source called a “verbal agreement” to become one of Brown’s assistants.

Brown hired Handy as his player development coach last year his first season as the Lakers’ head coach. Since then, Handy has developed a strong reputation among the Lakers’ players for both his engaging on-court workouts and infinite willingness to work with them at all hours of the day. Handy will oversee player development with the Cavaliers, but will also have more added responsibility than he did with the Lakers.
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Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford interviewed Tuesday with the Charlotte Bobcats for their head-coaching position, according to a league source.

Clifford had also interviewed last Monday with the Milwaukee Bucks for their head-coaching spot, according to league sources. No offers were made and no follow-up interviews have been immediately scheduled. But Clifford could still be in the mix. According to one sources, Milwaukee also interviewed Nate McMillan and Houston Rockets assistants Kelvin Sampson and J.B. Bickerstaff and former Hawks coach Larry Drew.
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The lasting images surrounding the Lakers’ 2012-13 season hardly spark pleasant memories.

They lost in a four-game sweep in the first round to the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers’ star studded lineup in Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol never showed consistent chemistry. The team’s overlapping injuries and Mike D’Antoni’s adjustment to an aging and slower roster didn’t help, either.

But as Time Warner Cable SportsNet still found enough highlights to put together an hour long show airing tonight at 8 p.m., a segment that will count down the 50 plays of the Lakers’ season.
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The man maintains he has no more interest in coaching, but that’s not stopping Phil Jackson from expressing how the Lakers could’ve fared better than an early first-round playoff exit.

He believed the Lakers misused Dwight Howard’s talents so much in the 2012-13 season that the former Lakers coach would sound hardly surprised if he decided to leave this offseason via free agency.

“Would you if you felt like your game wasn’t going to be featured?” Jackson said Tuesday on The Dan Patrick Show.
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The prized momentos plastered through two sets of rooms encapsulated everything that made Elgin Baylor such a great Laker.

The gold, wooden chair that Baylor sat on when the Lakers honored him in on March 22, 1969 dubbed “Elgin Baylor Night” at the Forum now sits in the center of the room. On one corner of the room, Baylor’s jacket commemorating the NBA’s 50 Greatest players (including himself) hangs on a rack. On another rack of the opposite side of the room features Baylor’s Lakers warm-up jacket.

On Friday, Baylor won’t have those possessions. Instead, he will be auctioning those items off at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills with the proceeds benefitting to-be-determined charities.

“It’s been 41 years since I retired, but after a point in time people were constantly asking me,” Baylor said in an interview with this newspaper. “I decided fine. I’ll share some of this stuff and do it.”
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A long 42 days remain until free agency hits, but that’s not going to stop the drumbeat regarding Dwight Howard’s future.

The Lakers spent plenty of time in their exit interviews three weeks ago stressing the need that Howard returns, ranging from the front office, coaching staff and teammates alike. That sentiment has also extended toward prominent Laker greats.

“It’s important to have a nice center of his talent,” Elgin Baylor said Monday in a wide-ranging interview with this newspaper. “Who knows who’s going to be here and not going to be here. But he’s familiar with his teammates. He seemed like he was getting better later in the season and fitting in with this team. He’s the most gifted center in the league.”

Baylor made those comments at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills where he plans to auction off memorabilia stemming from his 13-year NBA career with the Lakers on Friday to benefit to-be-determined charities. But Baylor also had plenty of things on his mind regarding the Lakers’ future, including his belief that the Lakers need to keep Pau Gasol regardless of whether Howard stays.
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Word over what Kobe Bryant termed a “surprise announcement” coupled with a hoax Twitter account reporting his retirement sent Lakers fans into a frenzy over the weekend.

Too bad it wasn’t true.

Bryant announced at Sports Spectacular he’d host an event in mid August to help eradicate homelessness. Meanwhile, Bryant scoffed at any notion that he’d hang it up following a storied 17-year career.

Really?? Me. Retire?? Soon, but not yet Vino still has work to do #35 #OG #kbvff

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 20, 2013

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In an ongoing effort to fight an issue that he holds dear to his own foundation, Kobe Bryant plans to host a charity event Aug. 15 at Nokia Theatre dubbed “Kobe up Close.”

“I’d like to officially announce that I’m partnering with the Sports Spectacular to help eradicate homelessness,” said Bryant in a pre-recorded video that aired Sunday at the Sports Spectacular 2013 gala at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. “You can learn about my past, present and future. It’s for an incredible cause.”

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel plans to host the event, one of many initiatives Bryant has taken in recent years to reduce homelessness.

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, launched their self-named foundation in the summer of 2011 and began sponsoring My Friend’s Place, a nonprofit resource center on Hollywood Boulevard that offers free emergency services to homeless youth. Within the last year, the facility served 1,741 homeless people by providing shelter, food, clothing, showers, transportation and other services. Bryant’s foundation also provided a grant to Step On Second, a mental health organization that provides permanent supportive housing for about 1,800 homeless people. The funds are to help the group build eight additional housing units.

Meanwhile, Bryant spent last summer visiting the L.A. Mission and spending a night on skid row. He also hosted an event this past season in Hollywood where he met with former U.S. president Bill Clinton, who heads the Clinton Global Initiative.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com