The Los Angeles Lakers will face off against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night in what could be a game that will result in many internal changes to the organization. After facing elimination from the first round of the playoffs, down 3-0 to the Nuggets, the Lakers survived Game 4 and lived to fight another day. However, their chances of coming all the way back and winning four straight games against the defending NBA champions is slim, which is why there are major question marks surrounding the future of Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
In his first season with Los Angeles, Ham led the team to the Western Conference Finals last year. A slow start to the 2023-24 season then turned into championship aspirations after the Lakers won the very first NBA In-Season Tournament in December. While success has been found through Ham's first two seasons with the organization, his accomplishments have been overshadowed by the insane expectations placed upon his shoulders with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the roster.
The fact of the matter is that the Lakers expect to win a championship every single season. A reported disconnect between the coaching staff and the players throughout the course of the season, as well as a lack of adjustments being made in the playoffs, has suddenly thrown Ham under the microscope in terms of his job security moving forward.
Ham is the third head coach the Lakers have had since LeBron joined the organization ahead of the 2018-19 season. Posting 90 wins in two seasons with an appearance in the Western Conference Finals is no small feat. But as the constant noise from outside the organization suggesting that the team should move on from Ham grows louder, more consideration will likely be given to the idea of making a change on the sidelines in the offseason.
The Lakers are going to not only have to evaluate Ham's status in the summer, but they may also have to deal with James opting out of his contract. There are also question marks surrounding D'Angelo Russell and his player option.
A decision as to whether the Lakers will fire Ham won't be one that is rushed, and there are several factors that will play a role in this decision. One of the main reasons why the franchise may keep the second-year head coach, aside from his record and accomplishments, is the fact that the Lakers never look to pay an enormous amount for a coach. This is something ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski alluded to recently when discussing Ham's future on NBA Countdown.
“If you are a head coach of the Lakers and you get swept in the first round of the playoffs or you lose in five, you’ve got job security issues. Darvin Ham will have that,” Wojnarowski stated. “Here’s what the Lakers will have to look at: What is the marketplace; who is available out there? Mike Budenholzer is the most accomplished coach that’s available. The Lakers have not shown necessarily a willingness to pay for a head coach of what Budenholzer is going to command on the market.
“Is it fair for Darvin Ham to lose his job? If they get swept, if they lose in five, it is part of the conversation the Lakers are going to have.”
Until the Lakers are kicked out of the playoffs, there is really no telling what direction this franchise may go. Even though Ham has accomplished a good amount in his first two seasons, back-to-back series losses to the Nuggets certainly casts a level of doubt on his future in Los Angeles.
Darvin Ham's future with Lakers
It is clear to see that Lakers fans don't want Ham to be their head coach next season. Chants of “Fire Ham” were heard from the very top row of Crypto.com Arena following the Lakers' loss in Game 3 to the Nuggets. Then again, the organization doesn't necessarily side with what the fans want.
Controlling owner Jeanie Buss and executive Rob Pelinka have voiced their support for Ham despite all the ups and downs he has faced through his first two seasons with the team. Their decision to possibly part ways with Ham will come down to two things: what is best for the future of the organization and what LeBron ultimately wants.
The Lakers are committed to James. They want to capitalize on the final years of his career. If there is a sense that the Lakers will need to choose between LeBron or Ham in the offseason, it's not hard to believe that they would be 100 percent committed to James. At the same time, Buss and Pelinka are keeping an eye on the future of their franchise, with LeBron turning 40 years old next year.
The unfortunate aspect of everything transpiring with the Lakers is that Ham could wind up being the scapegoat for many of their wrongdoings. After all, the Lakers have had to deal with a plethora of injuries over his two seasons in Los Angeles, and Ham did have the team within four games of the NBA Finals in 2023. There really isn't another coach out there right now that could accomplish anything more than Ham already has with the Lakers.
The unwillingness to spend a lot of money on a new head coach, especially someone like Budenholzer, may very well lead the Lakers down a path where they keep Ham entering the 2024-25 season. At the end of the day, there is no telling what the organization has planned until their season comes to an end. That moment may very well come on Monday night in Denver.
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