Lakers rumors: Ham is safe, LeBron's 'patience has been tested', Hachimura close to return

The Los Angeles Lakers matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night has significant implications for the franchise. The Lakers and Suns are ninth and eighth in the Western Conference, and a win for the Lakers would vault them ahead of the Suns in the standings. In what should be a playoff atmosphere, a strong showing from the Lakers could prove that head coach Darvin Ham can turn the season around. 

Lakers rumors: Darvin Ham’s job is safe, for now

According to reporting from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham’s job is currently safe. At 19-19, the Lakers look far from the team that made a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals last season. Hoping to build off that run, the Lakers retained much of the core that led them there and made additions to build out the roster’s depth. Unfortunately, injuries and underperformance have seen the team take a step back and have placed immense pressure on Ham to turn the team around. 

Sources within the Lakers told McMenamin that while there is an understanding that Ham needs to show growth in his second year as a head coach, he has support from Jeanie Buss in ownership to Rob Pelinka in the front office. Ham orchestrated a mid-season turnaround last season, and there is confidence he can do so again with a healthy roster performing up to their capabilities. However, the NBA trade deadline on February 8th is only a month away, and pressure will continue to mount on Ham if the Lakers fail to break out of their rut. 

LeBron James’ 'patience has been tested'

While Darvin Ham has the support of the Lakers’ organization, for now, he may not have LeBron James’ support for long. Sources have told ESPN that James’ ‘patience has been tested’ since their post-IST fallow period. Should the Lakers’ struggles persist, James may agitate for a shake-up trade or new leadership. With James and Anthony Davis healthy and clicking on all cylinders, it’s clear the Lakers are still capable of making a deep playoff run.

Another concern for the Lakers has been their heavy reliance on the 39-year-old James. He has averaged 36.7 minutes per game since Dec. 12, a 3.4-minute per game increase from his first 22 games. Despite James’ best efforts, the Lakers have won five of their past 15 games. James has a well-documented history of pushing his organizations to upgrade mid-season, and if their fortunes don’t turn for the better, big changes could occur before the February 8th trade deadline. 

Rui Hachimura close to return

Rui Hachimura is inching close to a return from his calf injury, according to Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. Hachimura missed his fourth consecutive game with a calf strain and is listed as doubtful for their Thursday night game against the Phoenix Suns. Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham believes the forward could return as early as next week. 

The injury is Hachimura’s third trip to the injury report this season. He missed time earlier for a concussion and then a nose fracture, forcing him to wear a mask. Hachimura has only played 25 games this season and has topped out at 13 consecutive games played. He’s averaging 11.6 points per game on 54.5 percent effective field goal percentage in 23.5 minutes per game off the bench.