Darvin Ham emerges as a prominent figure of interest. Last season, Ham was an integral part of the coaching team for the Milwaukee Bucks, and he made NBA history by becoming the only individual to secure the NBA Cup with two different teams. His first triumph came with the Lakers, and in a testament to his prowess, he captured another title with the Bucks last season.

Despite a challenging two-season stint as head coach, which didn’t meet his personal expectations, Ham made the strategic decision to return to an assistant coach role with the Bucks. This move has underscored his broad understanding of the game, attracting attention from two franchises that have already announced their head coaches for the next season.

In a recent report, NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line revealed that the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Ham. “Phoenix and now New York, following the appointment of Mike Brown as the Knicks’ new head coach, are keenly interested in luring Darvin Ham away from the Bucks,” Stein reported on his website.

Knicks exploring coaching prospects beyond Ham

With limited head coaching experience at the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers for two seasons, Ham has reportedly piqued the interest of several NBA teams. However, the Knicks are not in pursuit of Ham as their next head coach, but looking for a strong coaching staff around Mike Brown.

According to Stein’s report, the Knicks’ interest in Ham is not isolated. They are reportedly searching for complementary additions to their coaching staff, with Phil Handy’s name also being mentioned in conversations around Brown’s possible recruitment. However, acquiring talent from the Bucks’ roster of assistant coaches won’t be an easy task.

Reflecting on Ham’s coaching tenure

Ham’s assistant coaching journey began in 2011, where he started with the Lakers, then moved to the Atlanta Hawks, and lastly, the Bucks. Before embracing the challenge of a head coaching role with the Lakers, Ham served a significant four-year stint with the Bucks, achieving a notable career highlight by clinching the NBA Championship with the team.

As a head coach, Ham has presided over 164 regular-season games, achieving a respectable win-loss record of 90-74, resulting in a winning percentage of approximately 54%. In playoff action, he coached 21 games, garnering a win percentage of roughly 33%. With this track record, Ham’s potential candidacy for any coaching role commands serious consideration in the league.

Ham’s departure was steeped in controversy. In his debut season with the Lakers, he led the team to the Western Conference Finals, only to be swept by the Denver Nuggets. In his second season, Ham guided the Lakers to a historic NBA Cup victory but was dismissed by the end of the season.

Since joining the Bucks as an assistant under Doc Rivers, Ham has now won back-to-back NBA Cups, proving his value on the sidelines. While details surrounding his exit remain unclear, Portis has made it clear that Ham’s firing adds an extra layer of intensity to the upcoming matchup.

“For Coach Ham, this is a big moment for him. I think our guys will be fired up for him to get the dub,” Portis said on FanDuel’s Run It Back. “On the other side, they’ll be fired up and not want their coach to beat them, so it’s just going to be a great game for TV. Hopefully, that game is somewhere live nationally – I think it’s a great storyline behind it.”

Ham reflects on his controversial Lakers exit

In an interview with Andscape’s Marc Spears, Ham expressed his frustration over being let go despite his accomplishments. “To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension with what I did,” Ham said. “I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts.”

“They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals,” he continued. “And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries, and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs.”

Arenas explains the reason Ham struggled to coach LeBron James

During a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, Gilbert Arenas weighed in on why coaching a player of LeBron James’ caliber presents unique challenges, suggesting Ham’s struggles could be linked to LeBron’s advanced basketball intellect.

“We’re just going to be honest; your star player’s probably smarter than you, right? And the fact that your star player is smarter than you, that’s a hard job to have,” Arenas explained.

“You literally have to talk to LeBron’s ego,” he added. “I got to talk to his basketball. For him to accept you, it’s like talking to some genius… LeBron’s basketball IQ is so high, if you don’t speak the same lingo as him, he’s not listening to you.”

Ham’s struggles became evident despite the Lakers making the playoffs via the Play-In Tournament, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors before being swept in the first round by the Denver Nuggets.

During a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, Arenas pointed to Ham’s difficulty in coaching a superstar with LeBron’s basketball IQ. “We’re just going to be honest; your star player’s probably smarter than you, right? And the fact that your star player is smarter than you, that’s a hard job to have,” Arenas said.

“You literally have to talk to LeBron’s ego,” he added. “I got to talk to his basketball. For him to accept you, it’s like talking to some genius… LeBron’s basketball IQ is so high, if you don’t speak the same lingo as him, he’s not listening to you.”

Ham reflects on his Lakers dismissal

In an interview with Andscape’s Marc Spears, Ham expressed his disbelief at being let go, citing his achievements with the team. “To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension with what I did,” Ham said. “I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts.”

“They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals,” he continued. “And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs.”

Ham reflects on NBA Cup championships

Ham holds the distinction of winning both editions of the NBA Cup, including the inaugural tournament as head coach of the Lakers and the second one as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Speaking about those championships, Ham shared his appreciation for working with two of the greatest players of their generations, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I’ve been super-duper excited to be a part of both—the inaugural and now this one. Two generational talents in both Bron [LeBron James] and Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. Lead one and ride shotgun for the other,” Ham said.

One of Ham’s key contributions with the Bucks has been improving their offensive strategy. With superstar players like Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ham effectively maximized their performance while seamlessly integrating the rest of the roster to achieve this latest triumph.

After clinching the title, Ham spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about his achievements with both the Bucks and the Lakers. “I’ve been super-duper excited to be a part of both—the inaugural and now this one. Two generational talents in both Bron [LeBron James] and Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. Lead one and ride shotgun for the other,” Ham said.

While thrilled with his latest success, Ham also opened up about the difficulties he faced with the Lakers. Specifically, he discussed how injuries to key players like James and Davis affected the team’s performance.

“It’s being reported like I’m just throwing some lineups up against the wall to see what sticks. No, man, we were really navigating a lot—from guys being hurt to having the oldest player in the league [James] to managing A.D.’s injury history. It was a lot,” Ham explained. Despite these challenges, Ham played a crucial role in helping the Lakers make a late-season surge to reach the playoffs.

Ham reflects on his time with the Lakers

Darvin Ham, reflecting on his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, spoke candidly about the challenges he faced, including injuries to key players, and shared his perspective on his departure from the franchise. “You feel like you did enough to sustain in one spot. I felt like I did that. I get it. The franchise I’m working for—the expectations can be unrealistic at certain points in time,” Ham explained.

Ham highlighted the progress he made during his time with the team, stating, “To be 33-49 when I was hired, with an unbalanced roster, turn that around, make it to the Western Conference Finals. The very next year, we were a plus-10 in wins, going from 33-49 to 43-39. And guys got paid on my watch.“

He also addressed criticism about the team’s playoff exit, emphasizing their journey to the NBA Western Conference Finals: “People always talk about us losing to Denver, but they never talk about how we got to Denver. We beat a kick-ass young squad in Memphis, and we beat Golden State.“

Ham’s next chapter after the Lakers

After parting ways with the Lakers, Ham didn’t waste time contemplating his next move. Reflecting on the abrupt transition, he said, “I got fired on a Friday, and I was in Montego Bay the following Sunday. I stayed over there for 10 days. I took some time for my wife and I.” That brief period of reflection proved crucial for Ham as he ultimately decided to join the Milwaukee Bucks for the upcoming season.

Ham, now Rivers’ top assistant with the Bucks, served as the Lakers’ head coach from 2022 to 2024. Rivers addressed the situation: “I’m not going to get into the whole thing that happened there, but he took a team to a Western Finals, and then the following year, he won the in-season tournament… and the they release him. It literally makes no sense,” Rivers remarked, making it clear he believed Ham deserved better treatment from the Lakers.

Rivers continued to praise Ham’s contributions: “First of all, he’s been here even longer than me. He knows things that I didn’t know. He has relationships with the players. Another guy that can trust. Trust is so important for players.” He emphasized, “Darvin Ham’s a coach, he should be on the sidelines, and I wanted him next to me.”

Ham reflects on his time with the Lakers

Despite the circumstances, Darvin Ham remains proud of his tenure with the Lakers. Reflecting on his time there, Ham said, “The state of the team when they hired me, up until the day they fired me, I like to think it improved. And that’s all I care about.”

And highlightened the progress made under his leadership: “I poured myself, my heart and soul, into that team trying to improve it from where it was, 33-49. And to get to the Western Conference finals in one year, have guys benefit from it financially.”

Rivers and Redick’s history

Another layer to Thursday’s Bucks-Lakers clash was the past tension between Doc Rivers and JJ Redick. The two have a history, as Redick played under Rivers for four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Redick had criticized Rivers during his time as an ESPN analyst, calling out Rivers for making excuses for poor results, saying, “The trend is always making excuses. Doc, we get it, taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard … But it’s always an excuse. It’s always throwing your team under the bus … There’s never accountability with that guy.”

However, now in his role as the Lakers’ head coach, Redick softened his stance: “I regret my tone in that case. I’ve owned that and I regret my tone.” He further clarified, “I don’t carry beef with people. And I’m not going to get into the history of Doc and I’s relationship right now. And I probably won’t ever. He’s fine in my book.”

According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Ham is returning to the Milwaukee Bucks as the top assistant coach to Doc Rivers. The 50-year-old had already served as an assistant for that franchise betwen 2018-2022.

It was in the summer of 2022 when he left Milwaukee to take the reins of the Lakers, who handed Ham the task of getting the best out of a roster led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But he couldn’t get the job done.

Ham couldn’t succeed with LeBron James as Lakers HC

Following a slow start to his first season, a number of moves at the 2023 NBA trade deadline helped the Purple and Gold turn things around just in time to make the playoffs and make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

A 4-0 sweep at the hands of eventual champions Denver Nuggets proved they still had a lot of work to do, but the Lakers once again struggled for consistency in Ham’s second year.

The team couldn’t avoid the Play-In and had to settle with the #7 seed, which meant a rematch with the Nuggets in the first round. After losing in five games, the Lakers decided to fire Ham, who left Los Angeles with a 90-74 record as head coach.

Ham was reportedly sought after by other NBA teams

According to Woj, the former Lakers HC drew interest from multiple teams for a top assistant job this offseason. The likes of the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns have been linked with Ham, but he’s ultimately going back to a familiar place.

In his four years as an assistant in Milwaukee, Ham reportedly forged strong relationships with Giannis Antetokounmpo and other Bucks stars. In addition, he was part of the coaching staff in the 2021 NBA championship.

One thought he was the scapegoat and that could be right to some degree. However, when you can’t figure out a way to beat the same opponent for two years, you have to go.

That’s why Austin Reave didn’t seem to be too satisfied with Coach Ham. In a recent interview, he claimed that they needed a system around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and stated that the team might finally go in the right direction now.

Austin Reaves Takes Subtle Jab At Darvin Ham

“Obviously Bron and AD is a very special duo to have, but just growing a system around those two to basically help in whatever they need and then playing around them. But I think we’re heading in the right direction, obviously with a coaching change coming up. I don’t know when they’re hiring a coach so I’m right there with y’all on that news. But hopefully, we get somebody that comes to work every single day the way that we do; ready to go try to win a championship,” Reaves said.

Reaves Predicts The NBA Finals

The talented guard also talked about the current state of the league and how tough things are in the Western Conference. On top of that, he chose the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Finals:

“I gotta go Dallas just because I can’t choose Boston. It’s a tough question because it’s such a tough league,” Reaves said. “There’s so many teams that are growing, you see like the OKCs, the Minnesotas (Timberwolves), and obviously the two teams that are left, young teams that have been together for a while and learned to play in a system around one another. I feel like that’s something you need in any sport you play like consistency is basically a system and just growing with what we have.”

At the end of the day, the Lakers don’t have a roster that’s good enough to keep up with other power hosues in the Western Conference. Still, Ham didn’t seem to be the right guy to lead them to the promised land anyways.

According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Dubs have held talks with Ham over the last few weeks over a possible role as an assistant coach. However, it looks like it won’t come to fruition:

“The Warriors had some conversation with former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham in recent weeks, per league sources. That isn’t expected to materialize. But it is a signal of the Warriors’ desire to add a big-name assistant, and indications are they are in search of either a former head coach or former player to fill the role. If Atkinson leaves, they may add two assistant coaches. It remains a fluid time across the league in the coaching world.“

An assistant at the Milwaukee Bucks before taking the reins of the Lakers in the summer of 2022, Ham left Los Angeles with a 90-74 record in his first head coaching experience.

While the purple and gold made the 2023 Western Conference Finals on his watch, the feeling was that Ham ultimately failed to get the most out of a squad led by LeBron James. It would be quite curious to see him work with Curry only a few months later, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Lakers looking for Ham replacement with LeBron’s future uncertain

In the meantime, the Lakers have yet to figure out who will replace Ham next year. Tyronn Lue was one of the first names linked with the job, but his extension with the Clippers means he’s no longer a candidate to coach the Lakers.

JJ Redick is said to be in pole position to be hired by the Lakers, but this could drag on for weeks before the franchise announces its final decision. In the meantime, there’s James’ situation.

At 39, the 20x NBA All-Star has until June 29 to decide whether to opt into or decline a $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. James hasn’t ruled out retirement or free agency, so it’s another big situation to monitor this offseason.

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.

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.

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.

According to NBA insider Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who has followed LeBron throughout his entire career, the 39-year-old prefers not to have a say on these kinds of decisions and this time wouldn’t be the exception.

“LeBron doesn’t get involved in coaching hires, for years for many many coaches he’s always taken a distance,” said Windhorst in an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, via ClutchPoints. “In fact, and I can’t say this for every candidate, but he generally has a rule that he won’t engage with the candidate.“

LeBron James’ future at Lakers may not be related to coaching search

Speculation about the Lakers potentially trying to please James with their next coach is related to the player’s uncertain future. The veteran star has until June 29 to opt into or decline a player option for the 2024-25 NBA season, but James doesn’t rule out retiring from the game. In the meantime, he reportedly won’t get involved on who should replace Ham.

“After the coach has been hired of course he’ll have a conversation with the coach generally he wants to stay out of it, he doesn’t want it on his hands,” Windhorst added. “I know there’s this belief that LeBron hires and fires all these coaches, and maybe he does like hurt coaches because he sort of kills them with a thousand paper cuts. But LeBron is very sensitive to that, and he does not want to be involved in that. So it’s not going to be like he’s going to go into Rob Pelinka and say hey I’m having a great time with JJ you should hire him that’s just not reality.”

All the coaches LeBron James has played for so far

LeBron has so far worked with nine coaches throughout his NBA career. In LA, Ham was James’ third boss. Before that, he played under Luke Walton and Frank Vogel (won the 2020 NBA championship) for the purple and gold.

• Paul Silas (2003-05)
• Brendan Malone (2005) – interim
• Mike Brown (2005-10)
• Erik Spoelstra (2010-14)
• David Blatt (2014-16)
• Tyronn Lue (2016-18)
• Luke Walton (2018-19)
• Frank Vogel (2019-22)
• Darvin Ham (2022-24)

Word on the street is that the Lakers’ priority target is Tyronn Lue, who won the 2016 NBA championship with James in Cleveland and has been praised by LeBron on several occasions. However, Lue said he’s happy with the Clippers, who have him under contract for next season and are reportedly planning to offer him an extension.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the purple and gold already have five coaching candidates in mind: Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick, Charles Lee, and Tyronn Lue.

“Whoever the Lakers hire for this job, the task will be competing for a championship,” Charania said on ‘Run It Back’ of FanDuel TV. “This is one of the most high power jobs in the league. A lot of expectations will be on whoever that next head coach is.”

Ham arrived in 2022 and was under contract for the next two seasons, but the Lakers are not the kind of team that can wait to succeed. Especially when their hopes rely on two aging superstars.

While Anthony Davis is not getting any younger, LeBron has a player option for next season, which is why the team needs to persuade James to stay by offering him a legitimate chance to succeed. And its next coaching hire could be crucial to do that as Ham was the second coach LeBron has had in LA.

Lakers reportedly see Lue as No. 1 option to help LeBron

Charania reports the Lakers have a favorite candidate from this list, which is Ty Lue. The 47-year-old, however, is not expected to be let go by the Los Angeles Clippers as he’s under contract through next season.

Besides, Lue himself suggested he wants to remain with the organization, though he appreciates the Lakers’ reported interest: “It’s great to be wanted. That’s a really good feeling. But like I said, I want to be here. And hopefully we’re able to solidify that.”

Lue took over at the Cleveland Cavaliers the season they won the championship with LeBron James, who refers to Lue as one of the best coaches he’s ever had. His hire would certainly put the Lakers in a better position to keep The King, but James warned he’ll take his time to make a decision.