In an appearance on First Take this week, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst gave some valuable intel on the situation in Laker Land right now, where Anthony Davis and Darvin Ham are having a public exchange of shots. According to Windhorst, Davis directly blames Darvin for the loss, and it suggests there is some serious turmoil in the locker room right now.
“Anthony Davis blamed Darvin Ham for this loss,” said Windhorst. “That is exactly what he did, he did that very clearly with those comments. Anytime you have a loss like that where there’s a 20-point differential, someone’s going to get the finger pointed at him and Anthony Davis pointed it right at Darvin Ham. It is taking public what have been some clear, private tensions.”
"Anthony Davis blamed Darvin Ham for this loss. That is exactly what he did, he did that very clear with those comments…. Someone's going to get the finger pointed at him and Anthony Davis pointed it right at Darvin Ham"
– @WindhorstESPN on Anthony Davis comments on coaching… pic.twitter.com/sZuwmYglTh
— BASKETBALL ON 𝕏 (@BASKETBALLonX) April 25, 2024
The comments Windhorst refers to here were spoken in the post-game press conference after the Lakers gave up a 20-point lead to the Nuggets in the fourth quarter. Davis, who was inexplicably shut out of the offense down the stretch, blatantly called out his coach and admitted that there were stretches where the team had no clue what they were doing on the court.
Naturally, Ham fired back against those comments and chalked it up to “frustration” on the part of Davis, but they are criticisms that many fans and experts are inclined to agree with. All season long, Darvin has made questionable decisions including things like starting Taurean Prince over Austin Reaves, denying a bigger role for Rui Hacmimura, and giving 39-year-old LeBron James such a heavy workload.
Now, it seems his very schemes are being called into question as the Lakers get exposed in the post-season for the second straight year. With no answers on how to stop the Nuggets or any practical solution on how to keep up with Nikola Jokic, the Lakers are just not prepared to win this series and it’s not an easy pill to swallow.
Darvin Ham Is On The Hot Seat In Los Angeles
After a run to the Western Conference Finals last season, the Lakers hoped to build on their success and potentially add another championship in LeBron James’ last stand in LA. But when they returned with mostly the same roster as the previous campaign, it wasn’t a huge shock when the Lakers struggled to crack the top six.
Despite a relatively healthy season from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers couldn’t keep up with the competition in the West and younger teams like the Timberwolves, Thunder, Mavericks, and Pelicans have already passed them by.
Without a major roster change, the only real move to make for the Lakers is replacing Darvin Ham. After a whole season of chirping about his job security, it seems his time is very nearly up and the signs are starting to show that he’s losing the ears of his players in the locker room.
For now, with their season on the line, the Lakers have every reason to be frustrated and it makes sense to take it out on someone else. But if they don’t change soon and start to show some signs of improvement, the patience will wear thin from the front office, and Davin will find himself on the other end of a coaching replacement.
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