The Los Angeles Lakers had high hopes for Darvin Ham when they hired the head coach 23 months ago. Ham inherited a roster consisting of four-time NBA MVP LeBron James and nine-time All-Star Anthony Davis and was expected to guide this team to a championship. Nearly two years later, Ham has a failed to deliver with a subpar 90-74 record in the regular season.
The 4-1 series loss in the opening round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets seemed to have been the final straw for the Lakers organization. According to reporter Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Los Angeles is will likely part was with the 50-year-old head coach as they look to bounce back next season.
“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 a recent episode of the The Athletic NBA Show podcast. “I"ve already started to hear some names from different people."
The Lakers are expected to terminate Darvin Ham by the end of the week, per @jovanbuha
"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… pic.twitter.com/cFyJ1H59OF
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 2, 2024
The decision to terminate Ham by the end of this week comes as no surprise considering the Lakers roller coaster season. The organization has invested heavily in the roster but despite possessing one of the more talented rosters in the league, the Lakers barely scraped into the play-in tournament. A 47-35 record this season saw Ham"s team finish seventh in the Western Conference.
It will be interesting to see what direction the Lakers take with their next coach. LeBron has an opt-out clause in his current contract for 2024 and retaining the superstar could hing on signing a top tier coach.
