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Even entering the Lakers‘ do-or-die game against the Nuggets on Thursday night, there was concern around the NBA for the job security of L.A. coach Darvin Ham. There had been rumors going back to January that Lakers players were not happy with Ham, rumors that were quelled by the team’s strong second-half finish.
But now we’re in the NBA playoffs and the Lakers are set to be unceremoniously bounced from the postseason by the defending champion Nuggets. After blowing a 20-point lead in Game 2 of the series in Denver, the Lakers blew Game 3 in Los Angeles, their final chance to make this a series again.
And while the inability to knock off the Nuggets is not his fault, the inability to even win a game against the defending champs in the past two playoffs (the Lakers were swept in 2023 by Denver) falls to Ham. One guy who surely knows that is star forward LeBron James.
“They can’t be expected to beat the Nuggets, but they should be expected to make some adjustments, right?” one Western Conference executive told Heavy Sports. “You know, throwing different looks at Nikola Jokic as he is pulling you apart in that third quarter (of Game 2) would have been a good idea.
“But Darvin has shown his inexperience, he does not seem to want to go too far off script even when his team needs it. It costs them. I think it is frustrating for those guys, especially LeBron.”
Lakers Sweep Was not Part of the Plan
While there have been indications that Ham is not in danger of losing his job this summer, or this spring, given the projected short stint the Lakers will have in this postseason, that comes across as something that might have been true under the assumption that the Lakers would not get swept again in the playoffs. But here we are.
It also is entirely likely that James himself has a say in what happens next with the organization. He has the ability to opt out of his contract this offseason and, in free agency, he could pull some Lakers strings.
“If LeBron James does not want Darvin Ham there anymore, then yeah, he would be gone,” one Eastern Conference GM said. “That’s been true his whole career. Whatever has come out about their situation before now, I don’t think it matters because I do think a sweep changes everything. I do think if Denver finishes them off, if they sweep them, Darvin is a little bit of an endangered species there. Not even a little bit.”
It did not help, either, that Lakers star Anthony Davis seemed to dig at Ham after Game 2 when he said it sometimes seemed like the Lakers did not know what they were doing on the floor.
LeBron James Has Not Had the Right Coach in L.A.
There is also the notion that the team has not had the right coach in place for the Davis-James tandem all along, going back to when the team brought the two together through a trade with the Pelicans in 2019. James’ first coach in Los Angeles was Luke Walton, and he was quickly ousted.
The team bungled the ensuing hire, missing out on top target Ty Lue and the No. 2 option, Monty Williams. That left the Lakers with Frank Vogel running the show, and though he led the team to the “bubble” championship in 2020, he was never a great fit, either.
“Vogel was the wrong guy and this was never going to be the right job for Darvin, not with LeBron there and the expectations so high and every move he makes, you know it is going to be watched and dissected,” the exec said. “He made mistakes. He did not handle the rotation right. His voice, I think, gets drowned out to much, he maybe tries to make everyone happy too much.
“LeBron needs a certain kind of coach, that team needs a certain kind of coach. Hard to say that Darvin is that guy.”
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