Los Angeles Lakers fans aren't the only ones frustrated by the decision-making of Darvin Ham. The second-year head coach has reportedly faced criticism of late from player agents, whose displeasure with their clients' roles on the Lakers have apparently reached the team's front office.
“There’s just a lot of chatter from people around the Lakers organization that Darvin Ham is not the guy that’s going to be able to get this thing over the hump,” Yahoo! Sports NBA insider Jake Fischer said on the No Cap Room podcast. “…a lot of agents are calling the front office frustrated about their guys not getting the right opportunities.”
Could Darvin Ham coach his last game with Lakers on Sunday?
Ham has come under intense scrutiny during Los Angeles' precipitous slide after winning the inaugural in-season tournament on December 9th. The team is 3-10 over the last few weeks with a -6.2 net rating, the seventh-worst mark in the NBA during that timeframe. The Lakers enter Sunday's battle with the Los Angeles Clippers at 17-19, half a game behind the 10th-place Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Ham's lineup choices have been confounding all season. After moving Austin Reaves to the bench just a week after 2023-24 tipped off, he changed Los Angeles' starting lineup again on December 23rd, inserting Jarred Vanderbilt for D'Angelo Russell, a configuration that left the Lakers bereft of spacing and playmaking around LeBron James and Anthony Davis to open games.
Reaves took Vanderbilt's place as a starter for the last two games, joining James, Davis, Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish on the floor for tipoff. The Lakers lost by 14 to both the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies, talk of Ham's waning job security growing louder than ever after Friday's home defeat to Ja Morant and resurgent Grizzlies.
Ham certainly hasn't navigated Los Angeles' ingrained roster issues with perfect aplomb. Reaves' struggles for consistency have only been exacerbated by his frequently changing role, while Ham's decision to so starkly prioritize defense in the Lakers' now-defunct former starting lineup was vexing from the moment it was made. His lasting affinity for playing Cam Reddish, down to 30.8% from beyond the arc on a diet of quality looks, remains head-scratching.
It's unfair for any denunciation of Ham's performance to ignore Los Angeles' major personnel deficiencies, though. Which agents complained about Ham to the front office is unclear, but the only player on the roster who has an objectively strong leg to stand on with regard to frustration about his role is Reaves.
The likes of D'Angelo Russell, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes, for instance, would be at risk of losing minutes or getting outright benched playing for pretty much any team in the league. Rui Hachimura isn't exactly a plug-and-play option at forward, either.
No one is arguing Ham has helped the Lakers reach their peak so far this season. But that ceiling is only so high for a team extremely light on dynamic, versatile two-way performers beyond James and Davis. Injuries to key members of the supporting cast—like free agent signee Gabe Vincent, supposed to provide Los Angeles with its best blend of shot-making and on-ball defense in the backcourt—since 2023-24 began only lower it further.
Don't be shocked if Sunday's game marks Ham's last with the Lakers should their losing streak reach five games. Regardless, barring another stunning change of fortune materializing soon, it seems his days in Los Angeles are numbered.
[h/t u/iksnet, reddit]
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