Darvin Ham of the Lakers is under investigation by an insider, who names a possible replacement.
Arguments against head coach Darvin Ham will only get worse after the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Atlanta Hawks, despite the fact that his club was missing players due to injuries.
This time it was Anthony Davis, whose groin injury caused him to miss the loss to Atlanta. But the flow en route to the final result of the game was reminiscent of many other losses this season.
“It may not matter what acquisitions the Lakers make since Ham has also been one of the NBA’s worst coaches and it appears he has lost the trust of his roster,” The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor wrote on January 30. “Blame is shared by everyone in charge. Hiring an unproven head coach was a risk by [General Manager Rob] Pelinka and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss from the beginning.”
O’Connor believes the Lakers need a “better head coach”. He also believes that LeBron James could have an idea for a replacement for Ham in mind.
“If LeBron had the same influence that he possessed in Cleveland following David Blatt’s dismissal in the middle of the 2015–16 campaign… Phil Handy, the assistant coach, would most likely replace Ham by now as well, according to O’Connor.
Buss was “too cheap,” according to O’Connor, to bring on Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue for 2019. A year after the Lakers signed Frank Vogel, Lue took Doc Rivers’ spot on the Clippers.
However, the notion that Handy might take Ham’s place is not entirely novel.
Players’ Disconnection From Darvin Ham Started Phil Handy Talks
There is an increasing gulf between Ham and the Lakers locker room, according to reports from Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The head coach’s lineup and rotation adjustments, some of which were brought on by injuries, were in question.
Ham maintained that the Lakers’ injuries were preventing them from being a consistent team in terms of lineups or on-court performance.
Austin Reaves and other players disagreed, claiming they had enough to be better than they actually were.
In the midst of rumors of unrest in the Lakers locker room, Darvin Ham takes a stand.
On January 5, Sam Amick of The Athletic wrote, “It doesn’t help Ham’s cause that his messaging has been so different from that of the players in the locker room.” The other consideration in this instance, as in all such cases, has to do with a potential substitute.
Speaking with those in the know about the issue, Phil Handy, the assistant coach of the Lakers, is more frequently mentioned as a potential option. Again, though, we’re not quite there yet.
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