What’s Next for the Lakers After Firing Darvin Ham?
After two seasons on the bench, head coach Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers was dismissed on Friday. In a move to revitalize the team and make a strong comeback in the title race, the franchise is on the immediate lookout for a new head coach, recognizing the significance of this decision in the context of LeBron James' potential final season. With two years left on his deal, Ham had gone 90-74 (.549) in the regular season and 9-12 (.429) in the postseason, this does not include his two Play-In Tournament victories. Since being brought in to take Frank Vogel's position in 2022, Ham has played in 90 games. In December, he led the Lakers to their first-ever in-season tournament championship in Las Vegas.
It's been a few days since the Lakers' disappointing exit from the playoffs, marking the second consecutive season they were knocked out by the Denver Nuggets. This time, the Nuggets secured a victory in five games during the first round, a stark contrast to their previous year's sweep in the Conference Finals. It’s hard to pinpoint precisely where Ham was a problem on the sidelines. He could be just the scapegoat for the team short of championship appearances. From an exes and ohs perspective, along with accountability, it just seemed Ham was not quite ready for the magnitude and expectations of this job. The Lakers started the season with a dismal 3-5 record, but after winning the In-Season Tournament, they struggled through a 4-11 run that knocked them down to No. 13 in the West by mid-January. Los Angeles returned to complete the season with a 23-10 record, which, from February 1 to mid-April, was the fifth-best record in the league. They also defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in the Play-In round to reclaim the seventh seed.
The Nuggets defeated the Lakers by 24 points in their four victories during their postseason sweep last year. This time, it took Denver five games to win, with a 22-point margin of victory overall. Injuries and unfortunate circumstances held the Lakers back, but those aren’t excuses for losing to Denver eight times soundly while blowing leads on the biggest stage. Now, in a pivotal offseason, the Lakers will look to hire their third coach in the last six seasons.
