3 head coach options the Lakers could replace Darvin Ham with ASAP
By Lior Lampert
After losing to the Miami Heat last night, the Los Angeles Lakers officially fell below .500. Sitting at 17-18 and currently in 10th place in the Western Conference standings, the Lakers have failed to meet expectations after reaching the Western Conference Finals last season. As head coach Darvin Ham tries to navigate his team through their recent struggles, questions about his future with the franchise have emerged.
Per The Athletic’s senior NBA insider, Shams Charania, “there’s currently a growing disconnect between Darvin Ham and the Lakers locker room stemming from disjointedness around rotation and adjustments.” The Lakers have lost three straight games and Ham has elected to roll with a different starting lineup in each of the three games. Overall, the Lakers have had 10 different variations of a starting lineup this season.
Uncertainty causing Lakers chaos
After retaining key free agents this past offseason such as Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers preached the importance of continuity leading up to the season. Since the season began, they have not practiced what they preached and Ham’s eagerness to fiddle with the team’s rotation has been a factor
Unfortunately, Ham’s tinkering could cost him his job, especially given the recent report from Charania. With that being said, here are three candidates the Lakers could look towards to replace Ham in the event they decide to move on.
3. Mike Budenholzer
After leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 58-24 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last season, head coach Mike Budenholzer was relieved of his duties once the Bucks were defeated by the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Budenholzer led the Bucks to 50-plus wins in four of his five seasons with the team as well as their first championship in half a century, so it was shocking to see him let go.
The two-time NBA Coach of the Year Award winner would be a great hire for the Lakers. As a defensive-minded coach, he’d fit in perfectly with the likes of Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Taurean Prince, putting them in positions to succeed and make an impact on the defensive end of the floor.
Not to mention, Budenholzer is an experienced and respected basketball mind and NBA head coach, which could be beneficial for a team led by 39-year-old LeBron James in pursuit of a championship.
For his career, Budenholzer has a 484–317 record in 801 regular season games combined with a 56-48 record in 104 playoff games. The track record speaks for itself, making Budenholzer a viable replacement for Ham.