Getty Head coach Darvin Ham speaks to LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham heaved a sigh of relief when Norman Powell missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer allowing his team to snap a four-game losing skid with a 106-103 escape act on Sunday, January 8 at Crypto.com arena against their crosstown rivals Los Angeles Clippers.
But the nerve-wracking win did little to cool down Ham’s warming seat as LeBron James‘ passive-aggressive postgame comments raised eyebrows.
“I’m just saying he’s trying to keep us prepared when it’s time to go out for battle,” James told reporters in a curt reply when asked how Ham is managing things through their recent struggles.
Then towards the end of his locker room postgame interview, James championed Clippers coach Ty Lue, his former mentor in Cleveland, when a reporter labeled their crosstown rivals a James Harden team.
“Nah, it’s the T-Lue Clippers,” James said. “I know T-Lue very well. It doesn’t take T-Lue long to make sure sh*t gets right. It took him five games, and they’ve been cooking since.”
His comment dropped on the backdrop of Ham struggling to figure out the Lakers rotation. Despite the win, the Lakers are just 4-10 since winning the In-Season Tournament title.
“Try to use this to try to catapult a little bit better play from us,” James said. “But it still doesn’t take away from the fact of how we’ve been playing like the last 11, 12 games. Tonight was a good start. Hopefully, we can start from here and continue to build.”
Ty Lue Attends LeBron James’ 39th Birthday Party
James and Lue remained close since their championship season in Cleveland in 2016. Lue even attended James’ disco-themed 39th birthday party last week.
They nearly reunited with the Lakers in 2020 but Lue turned down a three-year offer, which he felt was an insult to his championship resume.
Negotiations really deteriorated w/ Ty Lue when the Lakers refused to offer more than a three year deal that was designed to line up with LeBron James’ contract. Lue felt insulted the Lakers only saw him as a coach for LeBron, sources close to the process told ESPN.
The head coaching job eventually went to Frank Vogel, who was replaced by Ham just two seasons after piloting the franchise to the NBA Bubble championship in 2020.
James’ comments came with intrigue as the Lakers are struggling under Ham while Lue’s future with the Clippers is in doubt.
Lue failed to reach an extension with the Clippers in the offseason. Instead, the Clippers just guaranteed the final year of his four-year deal to coach the team until next season.
James beat Lue, who was forced to take out Kawhi Leonard with still 2:47 mark left in the fourth quarter, due to his minutes restriction. Leonard played 35 minutes in his fourth game since returning from a hip injury. Lue re-inserted his star in the final 17 seconds.
James led all scorers with 25 points, including a thunderous dunk over Paul George in the third quarter.
Darvin Ham Is ‘Not the Guy’
After The Athletic reported a deepening disconnect between Ham and the Lakers players, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer added more fuel to the fire.
“There’s just a lot of chatter from people around the organization that he’s [Darvin Ham] not the guy that’s gonna be able to get this thing over the hump,” Fischer said on the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast. The noise is very loud, there’s a lot of people very frustrated.”
Ham belied the rumors and adamantly said he’s aligned with the Lakers ownership and the front office.
The first-time head coach is in the second season of a four-year deal with the Lakers.