When the Los Angeles Lakers hired Darvin Ham to be their head coach prior to last season, plenty around the league felt they had made a good choice. That choice was criticized when the team struggled early in the 2022-23 season, but when it made its late-season run into the Western Conference Finals, it looked like he was growing as a coach.
Fast-forward several months later, and while the Lakers have been playing considerably better since mid-January, they’re still only treading water in the standings. After losing for the eighth time in a row to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, they find themselves in 10th place in the Western Conference, and a playoff spot is far from a certainty for them.
According to Lakers insider Anthony Irwin, Ham could be on the hot seat if they don’t make the playoffs this spring.
Via Lakers Daily:
“Per sources speaking on the condition of anonymity, Ham’s job is still very much safe this season, but if the Lakers don’t make the playoffs (meaning, secure the sixth seed or win their way into an actual playoff series), that could change as soon as this summer,” wrote Irwin. “Rob Pelinka’s focus is still squarely on this season, sources say, and conversations about Ham’s future have yet to truly commence.”
One particular thing that is concerning is that, reportedly, at least one member of the team isn’t exactly happy about Ham.
“All year, reports have surfaced about how various guys in the locker room feel about Ham, and per a few sources, at least a couple players plan to speak to Pelinka about Ham’s future as soon as this season ends. There remains legitimate concern throughout the organization how fit Ham is to continue as head coach.
“James in particular has shown increasing levels of frustration both publicly and privately all season with Ham. At this point, he spends most timeouts staring into the void and hardly interacts with Ham at all.
“‘He sits in the huddle and gets his rest/water, rolls his eyes as Ham speaks and waits for the huddle to break,’ one source close to the situation said. ‘If Ham ever does draw up a play, as soon as the huddle breaks, James will tell everyone else on the court with him “[expletive] all that” and calls a play of his own.’
“… As annoying as the rotation has been for players, Ham’s messaging has quite possibly ruffled more feathers. Several sources have voiced annoyance with how often his public and private theme boils down to work ethic, discipline and toughness — all things in the players’ control.
“‘We couldn’t do s— against Miami’s zone and we have LeBron,’ one source told me. ‘After the game, it was all, “We gotta do this, players gotta do that.” Not once did we hear about coaches not knowing what to do against a 2-3.'”
While Ham has been praised by his colleagues around the league for his leadership skills, some have complained that perhaps he lacks the acumen needed to be a high-quality NBA head coach. For many weeks, there have been many fans on social media who have been calling for him to be fired.
While the Lakers have won 14 of their last 22 games, they have barely gained any ground in the standings during that time. They’re early in a brutal stretch where they will face teams that currently have better records than them in each of their next six games.
March will likely reveal a lot about their prognosis in the weeks afterward, and Ham’s future with them could ultimately hinge on what happens in March.
