The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Friday afternoon that they have officially fired head coach Darvin Ham after two years at the helm.
“We greatly appreciate Darvin’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons including last year’s remarkable run to the Western Conference finals,” Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement released by the team. “We all want to thank Darvin for his dedication and positivity. While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season. This organization will remain unwavering in its commitment to deliver championship-caliber basketball to Lakers fans around the world.”
As Pelinka said, the organization thought long and hard about the decision to fire Ham, but in the end, they felt it was time to make a change.
In Ham’s two seasons as head coach of the Lakers, he went 90-74, earning the seventh seed in the Western Conference in both seasons. He was able to get the team back on track after rough starts in both years, but it wasn’t enough as they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals and then again to the same team in the first round this year.
Outside of those playoff runs, Ham also guided the Lakers to the first In-Season Tournament championship back in January.
The goal for the Lakers is always to win NBA Championships, however, and now they will look for another head coach that can hopefully reach that goal of raising banner No. 18.
Some potential Lakers head coaching candidates already beginning to emerge
While the Lakers will take their time in going through the process of finding a new head coach, some potential candidates are already beginning to emerge.
According to reports after Ham’s firing, coaches the Lakers will give a look include Tyronn Lue, JJ Redick, Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, David Adelman and Micah Noris.
Not all of those guys may be obtainable, namely Lue who could be there top choice but is also currently the head coach of the L.A. Clippers.
The coming weeks will be telling as far as Lue’s future with the Clippers goes, but regardless, the Lakers will likely interview around a dozen candidates as they have in past coaching searches before landing on someone they think is best.
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