Following another disappointing season for the Los Angeles Lakers, head coach Darvin Ham is reportedly experiencing his final days on the job. According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, Ham is widely expected to be fired as the coach by the end of this week.
“The latest I’ve heard is the plan is still to move on from Darvin [Ham] at some point, likely by the end of the week, potentially as early as tomorrow, then the head coaching search will start,” said Buha on The Athletic NBA Show. “I’ve already started to hear some names from different people.”
Regarded as a “player’s coach” Darvin was initially praised for his relationship with the players and his effectiveness in establishing a positive culture in the locker room. That all fell apart during this season when the Lakers struggled to maintain consistency and were predictably exposed in the first round. Now that the dust finally settled, it’s Ham who is at the center of blame and nobody expects him to last the rest of this week.
Of course, until an official announcement is made, it’s impossible to be certain that Darvin will not be back next year but a lot of people will be surprised if he’s still the acting head coach by the start of training camp. In fact, with such an important summer ahead, it seems the Lakers are much closer to firing Darvin as soon as possible rather than letting the decision be dragged out for a whole summer.
Ham, who was hired in 2022, did find some success with the Lakers last season when he oversaw the run that brought them to the Western Conference Finals. While they didn’t stand a chance against Denver in that series, it was miraculous the Lakers even got that far, given all that they had going against them.
Besides that brief stretch, the Darvin Ham era has been defined by chaos and doubt at every turn. Between his questionable rotations, his cringe-inducing quotes to the media, and the reports of having lost the trust of his star players, it was only a matter of time before Darvin was let go, and it seems that outcome is inevitable now after their latest first-round elimination.
Los Angeles Lakers Have Big Plans Ahead
While some fans are pushing for the Lakers to move toward a rebuild, the franchise seemingly has no interest in wiping the slate clean and starting over. Instead, they plan to re-sign LeBron James this summer to a multi-year deal in hopes of competing for championships at least one more time before he retires.
Firing Darvin and replacing him with a more proven and experienced candidate may be the easiest way to bring about change for the Lakers next season but they will need to do more if they want to keep up with rising competition in the West that includes the Thunder, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers will need to beef up their roster in a significant way, either with more star power or in the form of several quality role-players. We already know Trae Young is on board for a Lakers arrival and it might only take one or two more additions to make them a truly elite squad in the West.
For now, all eyes are on Darvin Ham and what happens with him as the Lakers consider their future. As such a divisive coach, the reaction to the decision will be mixed either way, but they better hope that it helps them achieve better results in the 2024-25 campaign.
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