Darvin Ham’s future with the Lakers is uncertain after their first-round playoff elimination to the Nuggets.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham addressed his uncertain future with the franchise after his second season in charge ended in a hard-fought series to the Denver Nuggets.
“It’s been an unbelievable franchise to represent,” he said after the Lakers’ lost on a Jamal Murray buzzer-beater at Ball Area for the second time this series. “Couldn’t ask for a better governor, a better president of basketball operations. Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Buss. I’ve seen a lot in my first two years in this seat. I’ll continue to work, get better, and control what I can control.”
Ham signed a four-year contract with the Lakers when he was hired in May of 2022. In his first season, Ham’s Lakers turned a 2-10 start and the Russell Westbrook fiasco into a run to the Western Conference Finals.
Not long after the buzzer of Game 5 — as the Lakers’ exit interviews were underway — The Athletic reported that Ham’s future is in “serious peril.”
This past season, the Lakers (47-35) won four more games but a stronger conference around them placed them in the Play-In Tournament, once again. The Lakers lost in five hard-fought games to the Nuggets after losing four tight ones in the 2023 conference finals.
However, Ham’s seat warmed up in January, as the Lakers dropped to 13th in the standings. Questionable rotation decisions in December — especially bringing D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura off the bench at one point — hurt the sophomore skipper’s standing the locker room.
“It’s been a hell of a two years sitting in this seat, I’ll tell you that. It’s been a hell of a two years.”
In the aftermath of Murray’s Game 2 dagger, Anthony Davis seemingly took a jab at Ham’s staff when he said the Lakers have “stretches when we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor.” Ham responded by publicly disagreeing with his star. (Earlier on Monday, AD was complimentary of the Lakers’ schematic preparation for Game 5.)
Darvin Ham said he took Anthony Davis’ comments after G2 that the Lakers “have stretches when we don’t know what we’re doing” as “frustration”, and he’ll “agree to disagree” with AD.
Ham said the Lakers coaching staff prides itself on being organized. pic.twitter.com/WtEzhYiW4I
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) April 24, 2024
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Once Ham straightened out the rotations, the Lakers finished with a 22-10 record and played their best basketball of the season. In his postgame remarks, Ham repeatedly cited the injuries to rotation pieces — namely Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt — that prevented the Lakers’ from ever fielding a full rotation.
“Stay healthy. Stay healthy,” Ham said without hesitation when asked what the Lkar’es need to do next season to go up a level. “You take a lot of flak for your rotations … but rotations are secondary. Primary is health.”
Ham’s future will be determined in the coming days. When his job was under scrutiny earlier in the season, he received support from Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka. It’s unclear how a competitive, five-game loss in the first round to the defending champions will impact their evaluation.
“I think Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said postgame. “That’s not an easy job. I think Darvin does it with class. He’s a good man, good coach, and I wish him all the best. Hopefully, he’ll be around there for a long time because he deserves to be.”
