Lakers: LeBron James challenged Darvin Ham and forced him to change his plan

The Los Angeles Lakers are back in the hunt for a head coach. This will be the fourth coach of the LeBron James era, which only dates back six seasons. Needless to say, that’s not much of a winning formula.

For most of his career, James has gotten into a power struggle with his coaches. And while Darvin Ham never looked like the right guy for the job, he never truly stood a chance.

Ham originally had a plan for LeBron. He wanted to keep him fresh for the NBA playoffs, even if that meant dialing his minutes back throughout the course of the regular season.

Darvin Ham Wanted To Limit LeBron James’ Minutes

“We’ll see. In all likelihood, yes,” Ham said about limiting James’ minutes after the season opener. “It’s easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches, but in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are.”

Head coach Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers react reacts as his team plays the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter during game two of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Ball Arena on April 22, 2024 in Denver, Colorado.

LeBron James ‘Bristled At The Idea

Unsurprisingly, that approach only lasted for one game, as James then was on the floor as often as usual. According to a report by Bryan Fonseca of The New York Post, the 39-year-old veteran ‘bristled’ at the idea and forced Ham to change his mind:

“ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Ham wanted to put forth a minutes restriction on the now 39-year-old LeBron James, with the idea that he’d be fresher for the postseason,” frote Fonseca. “According to the report, James “bristled at the idea” and it was subsequently scrapped a few games into the season.”