Getty Darvin Ham on the sidelines.
Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham will be back in the NBA as an assistant coach next season, landing a job with the Milwaukee Bucks as their top assistant to Doc Rivers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Ham returns to the franchise after spending two years as the Lakers head coach,” Wojnarowski tweeted on June 10. “He had been highly sought-after among teams this spring.”
Ham spent the 2018 to 2022 seasons as an assistant with the Bucks, winning a championship under Mike Budenholzer.
Los Angeles Lakers Players Were Frustrated With Darvin Ham
Firing Ham had been expected after two seasons with the Lakers that did not yield a championship — even though they reached the Western Conference finals in 2023.
According to Jovan Buha, Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, players grew frustrated with Ham.
“The frustration, which was sometimes so apparent that even opposing players would be made aware of it while sharing the court with the Lakers, didn’t stop at just the lineups and rotations,” Buha, Charania and Amick wrote on April 29. “Players openly criticized Ham’s willingness to allow below-average shooters to get wide-open 3s and believed the team was slow to adjust once a poor shooter was in a rhythm.”
The Lakers felt it was time to move on and did just that, prompting another head coach search, something the franchise has dealt with more often than not over the past decade.
Dan Hurley Turns Down Lakers’ Offer: Report
The Lakers made a surprise decision to add UConn head coach Dan Hurley to their head coach search. While it came as a surprise after the initial report, other reports have indicated that he was the Lakers’ top target from the start. JJ Redick was largely viewed as the top target initially.
But Hurley declined a six-year, $70 million offer from the Lakers on June 10, according to Wojnarowski.
“Hurley told Wojnarowski on Sunday that the Lakers made a ‘compelling case’ and presented a ‘compelling vision’ for him to become their next coach but that he loves what he has built with the two-time defending national champion Huskies,” ESPN wrote on June 10. “Hurley also told Wojnarowski that he left ‘extremely impressed’ with Lakers VP and GM Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss and had spent Sunday weighing their offer.”
Hurley was “the team’s top target from the start,” according to CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn.
Now, the Lakers will continue searching for a new head coach. This is as important of a decision as ever as they want to finally get a hire right and keep LeBron James and Anthony Davis happy.
Wojnarowski tweeted on June 10 after his initial reporting that Hurley had rejected the Lakers’ offer that LA must “regroup.”
“After a dogged pursuit of Hurley over past weeks, Lakers will regroup and resume bringing in candidates for interviews with hope of hiring a coach by Draft, sources said,” Wojnarowski tweeted. “[New Orleans Pelicans associated head coach] James Borrego is expected to remain part of group and Lakers could do their first formal interview with JJ Redick.”