In your ho-hum Friday night news dump, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Darvin Ham to be the franchise's next head coach.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Ham signed a four-year deal with the Lakers, for whom he worked as an assistant from 2011-13.
The decision is both unsurprising and intelligent. Ham was one of three finalists for the job, and the momentum had been trending in his direction (Ham apparently separated himself in the final round of interviews).
Ham will become the 28th head coach in Lakers' history and the sixth since 2011.
Here are three reasons why the 48-year-old seems like the right man to oversee the twilight of the LeBron James Era and beyond.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7LkPmnLI6ocyR5HfvBHxid?si=a6125392229e40b1
1) He's not Doc Rivers
Rivers wasn't necessarily the wrong guy for the job, but he hasn't exactly hit it out of the park in recent years, particularly in the postseason. The Lakers had an interest in Rivers, but a younger, fresher mind is a more inspired choice than a retread coaching his third team in four years.
More seriously, the Lakers were smart just to make a call. They proceeded deliberately for a month as they monitored the situation in Philly. Now that a coach is in place, they can shift their focus to rounding out the staff, then the June 23rd NBA Draft and free agency.
2) He's a former player
In the current NBA, players — particularly stars — hold more leverage than ever before. Understandably, hiring ex-pros to lead squads is in vogue.
“Besides Erik Spoelstra, all the other three that’s in the final four are ex-players,” Magic Johnson told The Athletic, speaking on the conference finals. “So I think that says a lot about these young ex-players who command respect right away, who have done it before. I’m not saying it has to be an ex-player, but I’m saying you have to look at what’s going on.”
Ham played from 1996 to 2005 and won a ring as a reserve for the Detroit Pistons. As a journeyman forward, he embraced the nitty-gritty aspects of the game, a department where the Lakers sorely underperformed this past season.
LeBron enthusiastically voiced his approval (as did Magic). According to one source, Ham was LeBron's preference all along.
Feels like the majority of Lakers fans are going to echo LeBron's excitement about Darvin Ham. Potential home run hire for LA. https://t.co/o4bN6ia4mz
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) May 28, 2022
This is great news for Anthony Davis, too. Ham's track record developing bigs, especially on the defensive end — Giannis Antekounmpo, Brook Lopez, Al Horford, Paul Millsap — is impressive. In general, Ham is a defense-first guy, which may or may not be a good thing, depending how they round out the roster.
Sure, he's a first-time head coach tasked with captaining a flawed, veteran-laden group carrying immense pressure and a championship-or-bust mindset (yes, still). On the other hand, the success of Ime Udoka and Willie Green (not to mention Steve Kerr and Ty Lue) should quell those concerns (conversely, the last time the Lakers hired a rookie skipper was Luke Walton…which did not go well). Plus, he can follow in the footsteps of Nick Nurse, Taylor Jenkins, Quin Snyder, and Chris Finch as dudes who paid dues in the G-League before becoming instantly competent head coaches in the Association.
Ham is reportedly targeting assistants with head coaching experience, which would help provide stability, know-how, and Xs and Os.
Ham made a strong impression on Lakers in several areas, including his championship pedigree, his commanding presence, history of coaching stars and toughness. Ham will start assembling a staff expected to include head coaching experience. https://t.co/8hCVatbraw
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 28, 2022
Ham is not raw, having clocked 14 years as an assistant — including for a title winner and multiple contenders. He descends from the Budenholzer/Popovich coaching tree. He was overdue and overqualified for a shot.
3) Gravitas
At exit interviews, Rob Pelinka said the Lakers were prioritizing candidates with a commanding voice.
“We just felt organizationally at the highest level it was time for a new voice,” Pelinka said. “In terms of what this team needs right now, we feel like with, obviously, superstars on our team, we want a strong voice that’s able to inspire the players to play at the highest level of competition every night. And I think that’s gonna be one of the resounding qualities that we look for in terms of holding everybody — from the top player on our team to the 15th man — to a degree of accountability. And that’s going to be one of the many characteristics that jump out.”
Ham owns that rep. While Vogel is an impressive defensive tactician, good company man, and dutiful worker, his strategy for managing internal tension was…not to. He largely stayed out of inter-personal conflicts, preferring to, in his words, “honor your work.”
The Lakers seem to think the ex-Bucks assistant may offer the best of both worlds. Per The Athletic:
“In his interview with the Lakers, Ham impressed with more than his ability to manage a potentially fraught locker room: He came across as the guy who can also solve the schematic issues that plagued the Lakers last season.”
As Woj noted in the tweet above, Ham has consistently earned the respect of stars. Per Lakers beat writer Kyle Goon, he's “known for his charismatic presence in the locker room…He carries a reputation of toughness and no-nonsense accountability, but also as a relationship-builder.”
Goon added that Ham was a leading voice when the Bucks staged their wildcat strike in the bubble.
Notably, Ham worked closely with Kobe Bryant when he was a Lakers assistant — surely something Pelinka, Bryant's former agent, fondly recalls.
The first major move of the Lakers' critical summer looks like a home run.
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