Lakers star played role in head coach Darvin Ham's dismissal

For the second year in a row, the Denver Nuggets trounced the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Playoffs. The clock is ticking for the Lakers to help superstar LeBron James win one last NBA championship in the twilight of his career.

The Lakers won a championship in the 2019-20 NBA season, but they have struggled to find success in the competitive Western Conference since then. Former head coach Frank Vogel was fired after the 2021-22 season, but his successor didn't bring any promising results in the following two seasons.

As the Lakers' struggles mounted, so did the team's frustration toward head coach Darvin Ham. The Lakers organization fired Ham after the team's season came to an end, and recent reports suggest that one of the team's superstar players may have had something to do with it.

Lakers superstar may have been the reason for Darvin Ham's firing

During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on Friday, The Athletic's Sam Amick claimed that Lakers star Anthony Davis had grown tired of his former coach.

"When they chose to fire Darvin Ham, I was told that one of the many, many considerations was that it was pretty evident that A.D. was not on board anymore with Darvin," Amick said, h/t Bleacher Report. "And they know, like everybody else, that A.D. has a history of having asked for trades in the past. That's how he got to the Lakers from [the New Orleans Pelicans]. Last thing they wanted was for A.D. to be frustrated with the situation and maybe have those types of thoughts cross his mind."

There were rumors of friction between Davis and Ham after the Lakers lost Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets. At the time, Davis told reporters that the team had "stretches where we just don't know what we're doing on both ends of the floor."

Ham was asked about Davis' comments, which were deemed as an indictment of the coaching staff.

"I mean, I just think sometimes when plays don't turn out the way you think they should, then the frustration sets in a little bit," Ham said, h/t ESPN. "But I don't think it's [from] us not being organized. I think I have incredibly talented all along my staff. We pride ourselves — whether it's a practice, a shootaround, a film session, a game or whatever — we pride ourselves on being highly efficient and organized. I just chalk that up to being frustrated. It's an emotional game, the way it ended and all of that. But I'll agree to disagree on that one."

With the nine-time All-Star firmly entrenched in the Lakers' plans for the future, it's obvious why they the organization's loyalties wouldn't lie with their coach. Ham was fired after two seasons, where he held a 90-74 regular season record and a 9-12 playoff record.

Los Angeles is continuing to search for a new coach. They were previously linked to Minnesota Timberwolves lead assistant Micah Nori, as well as other candidates such as Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick, David Adelman, and James Borrego.

Ham's successor will face the pressure of providing superstarJames an emphatic exit after his historic NBA career. That and make sure Davis is bought in to the new head coach's plan.