The Los Angeles Lakers made the decision to appoint Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their coach, replacing the outgoing championship-winning Frank Vogel. Vogel was sacked a day after the season was over, so the Lakers have had time to deliberate on this decision, picking Ham over an exhaustive recruiting process.
People around the NBA have lauded the Lakers for picking a strong-willed coach who isn’t the conventional choice. Ham is a rookie head coach but is known to be excellent in terms of managing players as well as coaching with a defensive focus. While he isn’t as proficient a defensive coach as Frank Vogel had proven himself to be, Ham can pull something out of this roster.
Ham has been a coach for Mike Budenholzer for years, working with him since Bud was head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. Ham developed a relationship with Hawks star Al Horford, who is now on the precipice of an NBA title in Boston. Horford commended the Lakers for picking Ham:
Celtics forward Al Horford on Lakers coach Darvin Ham after working with him when Ham was an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks pic.twitter.com/igdsYB7eSr
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 1, 2022
“Darvin is about as good a guy as you’re going to see, a big competitor. Extreme competitor. The Lakers are really lucky to have a guy like him. He’s the kind of guy that you want.”
Ham has a massive task ahead of himself right now, having to manage the turbulent Lakers roster and bringing them back into contention. His solution for the Russell Westbrook dilemma will be highly anticipated, as it seems the Lakers will not be able to move on from the guard this season.
There’s a whole roster of players the Lakers need this offseason. Hopefully, input from Ham is taken while constructing this roster, as he will be able to identify the pieces he needs to make a system with LeBron James, Russ, and Anthony Davis work and return the Lakers to the pinnacle.
