The Los Angeles Lakers made the difficult decision to let go of Frank Vogel at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, marking the beginning of yet another head coaching search for the organization.
The Lakers took their time this time around and interviewed a number of different candidates before ultimately landing on Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham.
While Ham doesn’t bring another past head coaching experience to the table, he has been around the game a long time as a former player and assistant.
He is known to be able to command the respect of players and hold them accountable, which is something the Lakers greatly need right now. That is evidenced by how the Bucks players feel about Ham with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton all wishing him well on social media:
On the Lakers hiring of Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Giannis Antetokounmpo tells ESPN: “I’m so happy for him. He’s the right fit for them. He keeps it real with you. No BS at all. It’s about damn time. He deserves it more than anyone.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 28, 2022
Coach Ham congrats OG 🤞🏿💯 https://t.co/5f9jfBOAKc
— Bobby BP Portis (@BPortistime) May 28, 2022
Hell Yeah D Ham!!! 👏🏼👏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Much deserved! https://t.co/mz6H0P6nvu
— Pat Connaughton (@pconnaughton) May 28, 2022
To see Bucks players speaking so highly of Ham is a good sign that he may be the right man to turn things around for the Lakers.
L.A. is coming off an incredibly disappointing season in which it missed the postseason so the hope is that Ham will be able to make Russell Westbrook work alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis if they are unable to trade the point guard this summer.
Working with Antetokounmpo, in particular, is something that may be able to help Ham unlock Davis, who shares some of the same on-court qualities as the Bucks superstar.
Ham being given ability to select coaching staff
One change this time around from the Lakers’ last coaching search is that they reportedly will allow Ham to select his own coaching staff.
The staff is expected to include past head coaching experience though, so perhaps the Lakers are still giving some input even if the ultimate decision is up to Ham.
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