Lakers players didn't like Darvin Ham because of a role player

From the very moment he was hired, some questioned why the Los Angeles Lakers would move on from an NBA championship coach like Frank Vogel to get Darvin Ham.

The answer was pretty obvious; they needed a fall guy, and Vogel had lost his voice in the locker room. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long before the same happened to Ham.

However, on top of his evident lack of control over his players, LeBron James and the guys also had lost faith in their coach. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, some of that had to do with how poorly he managed Max Christie.

The Lakers Had Big Hopes For Max Christie

“From what I’ve been told, the Lakers have interest in him,” Buha said. “They want to retain him. And they still see the potential in him that was — I think part of the disconnect in terms of the front office and the coaching staff, in terms of Max Christie’s role and him being underutilized,“ Buha said.

Max Christie

The Lakers Want To Keep Max Christie

Buha had a very impressive performance in Summer League, and he looked like the serviceable 3-and-D wing that could’ve come in handily multiple times. With that in mind, they’ll likely try to retain him as a restricted free agent:

“So, from my understanding, the Lakers are going to try to retain him. Now as for what that deal would look like, based on the Lakers’ track record, it would probably be a three-year deal — maybe four, given his youth — but at least three. I would probably lean three and then something in like the $15 (million) to $20 million range. So, something like five to seven million annually,” added Buha.

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The Lakers have a plan to get Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young

As for their new coach, they have already several potential candidates to take the reins of the team. Then again, any coach can only do so much if he doesn’t have his players’ respect.