NBA
Is Darvin Ham at the exit door with the Los Angeles Lakers?
On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers’ season ended as the reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets, defeated them in Game 5 of the NBA playoffs.
The Lakers’ postseason exit was brutal, especially after their hard-fought Game 5. Now, the organization must focus on the offseason and make several key decisions to become serious contenders in the Western Conference. The future of head coach Darvin Ham is on everyone’s mind. He has been on the hot seat all year due to the team’s maddening inconsistencies. Though Ham led Los Angeles to the Western Conference Finals last year, a first-round exit this year raises concerns about his future.
Several reasons point to Ham’s shortcomings as a head coach, including his questionable rotation choices and lack of in-game management. Throughout the regular season, there were glaring instances where losses could be attributed to Ham’s coaching abilities. The playoff series against Denver revealed Ham’s inability to live up to the moment, as he allowed the game to continue before cutting off any momentum. While the roster may not have been perfect, there were better ways to maximize the available players.
Ham’s tenure as the Lakers coach may end after losing to the Nuggets for the second year in a row. Although a formal decision may take time, all indications suggest he will be let go. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, there are strong signs that Ham will be departing from the Lakers sideline.
“The Lakers’ unflattering finish leaves Ham’s future as head coach in serious peril, multiple league and team sources tell The Athletic, with some stakeholders indicating it’s highly unlikely he’ll return. The plan is to reassess everything that went wrong in the coming days before making a final decision.”
The Lakers had a chaotic season after their surprise trip to the conference finals a year ago. They won the league’s inaugural in-season tournament but were hampered by injuries and inconsistency en route to the Western Conference’s seventh seed. The team’s future is uncertain, and many questions have been raised about whether LeBron will return and if Darvin Ham will still be the coach. Only time will tell.