In a segment on FanDuel TV, former NBA veteran Lou Williams suggested that the Lakers made a huge mistake by firing their former head coach Darvin Ham. The reasoning, according to Williams, is Ham’s potential for growth on the job.
“I’ll go viral, and I’ll say maybe [The Lakers] made a mistake by letting Darvin Ham go,” said Williams on FanDuelTV’s Run It Back. “It was very early in his career, very early in this process. Sometimes, you have to allow things to go and allow things to see what you’re going to get out of it.”
“Maybe [The Lakers] made a mistake by letting Darvin Ham go…” 🗣️
– @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/OIVrdyUAtt
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) June 11, 2024
Ham, who recently accepted an assistant coaching job with the Bucks, was fired following the Lakers’ first-round elimination to the Denver Nuggets. After struggling all season to finish in the top six, they matched up with the defending champions and lost in six games to a better and more well-rounded Nuggets team.
In the final months of his tenure, Ham was the subject of endless scrutiny and some questionable comments from his players. His rotations were controversial and certain lineups he would play caused great frustration among Lakers fans.
Despite multiple factors playing a role, Ham (50) ended up being the biggest scapegoat for the Lakers’ recent failures and it seems like both fans and players had turned on him before the end.
The process of finding his replacement commenced immediately for the Lakers and they were expected to take their time in finding their next coach. It was only a few days later that former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick was identified as a heavy favorite for the job and the opinions were mixed on whether or not he’d be a good fit.
Then, out of nowhere, UConn men’s coach Dan Hurley emerged as an aggressive target for the Lakers and they ended up offering him a massive six-year, $70 million contract. To the shock of everyone, Hurley turned down the opportunity to remain with UConn, and the Lakers were formally denied their top choice for the position.
With no clear Plan B in place, the Lakers are completely lost and embarrassed by their coaching search. With Redick not keen on being the second choice, they have no obvious answer on where to turn next, and the pressure to find a coach builds more with each passing game.
Had the Lakers given Ham another chance, or at least given him some more time to succeed, he might have had a breakthrough in the locker room and they would definitely not still be looking to fill the vacancy he left behind. Maybe he could have continued to learn and grow on the job to become one of the best in the league. Now, the Lakers will never know.
Last year, Ham led the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals after a series of mid-season trades and he was able to keep everyone together this past season despite overwhelming odds. He’s gone now and it’s not so easy finding someone who can fill the same role. Unless the Lakers can hire someone better, they might get noticeably worse with their next coaching hire and it’s a real shame for the franchise and their loyal fans.
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