Darvin Ham’s tenure because the Los Angeles Lakers head coach got here to an abrupt finish this summer time. Rob Pelinka and the entrance workplace decided to part ways with him following a first-round exit by the hands of the Denver Nuggets. The humbling got here one 12 months after the Lakers made a run to the Western Convention Finals, the place in addition they misplaced to the Nuggets.
Since leaving the Purple and Gold, Ham has teamed up with Doc Rivers as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. Throughout a current post-practice information convention, Rivers made his ideas on Ham’s launch very clear, questioning the Lakers resolution making course of.
“He took a workforce to the Western Finals, after which the next 12 months he received the in-season match, which they are saying we should always have a number of worth on after which they launch him, it actually is unnecessary,” Rivers mentioned. “Darvin Ham is a coach, and he needs to be on the sidelines and I wished him subsequent to me.”
Ham spent two seasons with the Lakers, overseeing a complete of 164 regular-season video games and 21 playoff video games. He secured a 90-74 record in the course of the two regular-seasons he was head coach, together with a 9-12 postseason file.
Sadly for Ham, his first foray into being a head coach got here within the strain cooker of the Crypto.com area, the place he had LeBron James and Anthony Davis. When you could have two of the most effective gamers on the planet in your roster, there is not a lot room for failure, and for the Lakers, something lower than a championship is usually deemed as such.
By returning to the Bucks, Ham is rejoining a franchise he spent 4 years with between 2018-22. He was an assistant on Mike Budenholzer’s championship-winning roster. Subsequently, he’s each revered and trusted throughout the Bucks franchise and may simply slot again into his former function.
Ham will seemingly be eager to return to a head teaching function sooner or later. Nonetheless, for now, working as an assistant is a brilliant transfer to maintain concerned within the ever-changing panorama of the NBA. Kenny Atkinson adopted the same path after leaving the Brooklyn Nets and not too long ago received the chance to return as a head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Teaching the Lakers was all the time a danger. Ham did higher than most admit, as Rivers was mentioning. Nonetheless, for now, taking a step again is definitely one of the best ways for him to take a step ahead sooner or later.
