Appearing on NBA Countdown prior to Saturday’s Game 4 between the Nuggets and Lakers, which Los Angeles won to stave off elimination and end an 11-game losing streak to the defending champions, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said head coach Darvin Ham will likely find himself on the hot seat if the Lakers lose the series in five games (YouTube link).
“If you are a head coach of the Lakers and you get swept in the first round of the playoffs, or you lose in five, you’ve got job issues. You’ve got job security issues,” Wojnarowski said. “And Darvin Ham will have that.”
As Wojnarowski noted, the Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2022/23, which was Ham’s first year on the job. And they actually won more regular season games this season (47) than last season (43) despite missing Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) and Gabe Vincent (knee) for most of the ’23/24 campaign.
There’s also a question of who would replace Ham if the Lakers let him go. Former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer is “the most accomplished” name on the open market, but he’s also rumored to be looking for a salary that the Lakers might not be willing to pay, Wojnarowski added.
While Wojnarowski questioned how “fair” it would be for Ham to be fired if the Lakers lose to the Nuggets in five games, he said “it is part of the conversation the Lakers are going to have.”
Game 5 of the first-round series between the West’s No. 2 and 7 seeds will be played on Monday in Denver.
Cool story bro
Only a poorly run franchise would fire a coach for losing in 5 instead of losing in 6.
Ham has made questionable decisions all year and the players don’t really seem to back him. It’s not rocket science. Have the guts to evaluate his work and make the call regardless of what transpires. Unless, of course, by some miracle the Lakers upset the Nuggets.
I think if you evaluate his work this season and this post season then he is definitely in line to get fired. A good coach would have this series at 2-2 in all likelihood and would also have not had the lakers in the position to have to play the nuggets in the first round.
According to CBS Sports,
NBA hot seat rankings: Monty Williams, Darvin Ham, Doc Rivers
All former players! What a coincidence!
Doc will get a pass due to the injuries, even we all expected him to fall flat on his face again in the playoffs.
Coach Ham is a better than Monty Williams
Ham salary 4-year $14 million (just my estimation)
Williams 6-year $78 million
one year deal of Williams is closed to 4 years of Ham
Why are we comparing them? I’d want no part of either.
LeBron James is still, in 2024, a truly great basketball player. Watching this guy play, win or lose, is such a treat fr. He’s had so many great seasons, series, games & moments. I’d say his gm5 vs Detroit in 07, his gm4 vs Indy in 2012, his gm6 vs Boston in 2012, gm7 vs Indy in 2018 & his gm1 vs GState in 2018 are his 5 best games ever but that gm4 performance in Indy with his team down 2-1 just stands out to me… link to m.youtube.com
Woj just making stuff again since he never has any actual info. So good that you report it here anyway.
Lebron should just Bill Russell these last 2-3 years.
Problem solved.
That should make him play D
Ham shouldn’t care, as long as the last 2 years of his deal are guaranteed. He’s done more than well enough to get himself into the NBA HC rotation, which is all that was ever within his control. It’s the business he’s chosen. If Ham wanted a job where he would be empowered to coach basketball, and evaluated on the merits of his coaching, then he needed to look outside the NBA.
If Ham is let go, LeBron will mandate who the next coach is.
You’re under the assumption that LeBron (who will be a free agent) is a Laker in the fall
How many coaches need to go before we can finally hold the players and GM accountable? They could bring in Popovich next year and the results won’t change.
The players have to much leverage and too much money. All that money makes them not care about competitive games, trying to win, all star weekend, trying all 82 games, trying to win a championship, etc etc etc. That’s why they are hugging each other before and after the game. NBA is soft and weak of skills, not as good as athletes if they cannot play as many games as the players played before them. 5 steps then a dunk, everyone needing to shoot 3s. No defence, dribbling etc etc etc etc
Weakest era ever other than the real early 50s. Patrick Ewing just came out and said this is the weakest era ever. It’s true
You can’t exactly fire players bud
Is Ham a turkey? Or is there still some meat on that bone? Many assured us that Sat was his last game coaching the Lakers, so I guess we’ll see. Coldcuts.
One more working holiday to Denver won’t hurt.
Ham isn’t the problem (nor is Lebron)… it’s the front office. One of the worst in the NBA got propped up by Lebron wanting to make movies in 2018…. how quick people forget they were a lottery team for 7 straight years before lebron got there.. and the seasons before that were the Dwight Howard / Steve Nash nightmare… the Lakers are NOT a good franchise.. and haven’t been for nearly 15 years. That being said when (not if) Ham is turned into bacon…. it will mean all but one coach Lebron has played for lost has their job directly or indirectly because of him. Erik Spoelstra (a man he tried to get fired) is the sole survivor.
Don’t all coaches loose their job directly or indirectly because of a player/players?
Unless you bang your assistant. Then you get to go to Houston.
could you name me another player with the coaching track record lebron has?
Can you name a superstar thats been in the league as long as Lebron?
And Kevin Durant is doing his best.
Rid L.A . of Lebron Russell. They were not expected to win that is why they play like losers without class. Lebron is overrated everyone knows that.