Ham has been the third head coach James worked with since joining the purple and gold in 2018. His first boss in Los Angeles was Luke Walton, who was already in California when The King signed for the storied franchise.

Walton had been at the helm of the Lakers since 2016, but lost the job after failing to make the playoffs in LeBron’s first year with the team. In 2019, the organization handed the reins to Frank Vogel.

This hire turned out to help James win his first and so far only NBA championship with the purple and gold, as the Lakers emerged victorious in the 2020 Orlando bubble under Vogel’s watch.

However, the next two seasons left much to be desired. After a first-round exit at the hands of the Suns in the 2021 NBA playoffs, Vogel failed to make the postseason the following year and therefore got fired.

Lakers hired Ham aiming to help LeBron, but it didn’t work

In the wake of Vogel’s firing, the Lakers turned to Ham in the summer of 2022 hoping to maximize their championship window with LeBron and Anthony Davis before it was too late.

Having previously served as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks, Ham signed a four-year deal with the Lakers on a reported $5 million-a-year salary, aiming to take the franchise back to the top.

Following a weak start to the season, the moves made by Rob Pelinka at the February trade deadline saw the Lakers have an impressive resurgence in the second half of the season to make the playoffs.

Ham’s team went on to have a deep run, making it all the way to the Conference Finals. However, a sweep by the Nuggets handed LA a reality check, one that the rookie HC couldn’t leave behind in his second year.

Even with LeBron still at his best at 39, Ham couldn’t do better than a 7th place finish thanks to the Play-In before losing to Denver in five games in the first round of this year’s playoff. Now, the Lakers are starting a new era with a new head coach, hoping to count on James.

How many coaches has LeBron James played for throughout his career?

LeBron James has so far played for nine different coaches throughout his fantastic career during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.

• 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)

Lakers coaches by year: How many coaches has LA had throughout history?

Darvin Ham was the 28th coach in Los Angeles Lakers history. These are all the coaches who have led the team at some point, some of them in more than one stint:

1. John Kundla – 1948–1958, 1958–1959
2. George Mikan – 1958
3. John Castellani – 1959–1960
4. Jim Pollard – 1960
5. Fred Schaus – 1960–1967
6. Butch van Breda Kolff – 1967–1969
7. Joe Mullaney – 1969–1971
8. Bill Sharman – 1971–1976
9. Jerry West – 1976–1979
10. Jack McKinney – 1979
11. Paul Westhead – 1979–1981
12. Pat Riley – 1981–1990
13. Mike Dunleavy – 1990–1992
14. Randy Pfund – 1992–1994
15. Bill Bertka – 1994; 1999
16. Magic Johnson – 1994
17. Del Harris – 1994–1999
18. Kurt Rambis – 1999
19. Phil Jackson – 1999–2004; 2005–2011
20. Rudy Tomjanovich – 2004–2005
21. Frank Hamblen – 2005
22. Mike Brown – 2011–2012
23. Bernie Bickerstaff – 2012
24. Mike D’Antoni – 2012–2014
25. Byron Scott – 2014–2016
26. Luke Walton – 2016–2019
27. Frank Vogel – 2019–2022
28. Darvin Ham – 2022–2024

But as good as those moves were, there’s still a glaring need for a pass-first kind of player or a more traditional point guard. Notably, they don’t have a lot of available money to solve that issue.

With that in mind, coach Frank Vogel claimed that he’s going to feature Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in the backcourt, and while Cam Payne could also get some run.

Suns Could Use ‘Multiple Ball-Handlers’

“I’m very comfortable with Beal and Booker as the starting backcourt, but we’re going to explore that fifth spot potentially being a Cam Payne or a point guard, and we’re going to explore it being maybe a ‘3,’ ‘4’ type defender position,” Vogel said. “Those things will play out in camp. I love the idea of getting those guys down the floor with a point guard and advancing it up to him and letting them attack. But I know that they can handle it on their own as well.”

“The pace that we want to play with, I think most possessions are going to have different ball-handlers each time down. It’s going to be a multiple ball-handler attack, but I’m comfortable with those guys. But I do love what Cam Payne brings to the table,” the coach added.

Of course, they could also continue exploring moves for a pass-first kind of guard, but Booker has proven to be more than capable of handling playmaking duties throughout the course of his career.

But as bad as the fit was, Westbrook didn’t look like the same player he’s been for the most part of his career. His confidence was off, his defensive effort was non-existent, and it only got worst as the season went by.

Eventually, the Lakers didn’t even make the play-in tournament and decided to cut ties with Frank Vogel. But besides the disappointing season, it was Vogel’s inability to make the most of Westbrook’s talents that made the Lakers show him the door.

NBA Rumors: Lakers Fired Frank Vogel Because OfInability To Use Russell Westbrook

(Transcript via Sam Amick of The Athletic)

“When the decision was made to fire Vogel, sources say his handling of Westbrook and the inability to find a way to make him a more productive part of the program were among the factors that played a big part. There was a strong sense that it was on Vogel to make the Westbrook experiment work, and the fact that it didn’t lead to questions about whether Westbrook had been put in a position to succeed. That sure smells like the hope of a Russ revival to me.

And how’s this for a tidbit to tie this thread up: Phil Jackson is known to have been a fan of Westbrook’s throughout his career. Sources say Phil Jackson has no interest in taking on this coaching job (or any other) himself — let’s just stop that rumor right here — but his view of Westbrook is relevant. As we’ve established, Jackson’s voice matters again.”

Vogel benched Westbrook during key stretches and in most close games. Westbrook never hesitated to let the world know that he wasn’t happy about that, although he didn’t do much to help his case when he was on the floor.

At the end of the day, Vogel proved that he had no clue as to how to turn the team around and make the most of Westbrook’s unique skill set, as much as Westbrook failed to realize that he had to change his game to help his team win. For now, however, there’s just one casualty.

Coach Frank Vogel made the decision to sit Westbrook down the stretch. He wasn’t on the floor in the clutch or in overtime. Needless to say, Russ was far from satisfied with how Vogel dealt with his minutes.

That’s why hip hop superstar and diehard Lakers fan Snoop Dogg thinks Vogel is to blame for Westbrook’s struggles. According to Snoop, he never allowed him to get his ‘groove’ and messed up his confidence.

NBA News: Snoop Dogg Rips Frank Vogel, Blames Him For Russell Westbrook’s Tough Season

“He’s a killer. He’ll find himself out of it,” Snoop said.“Remember, the coach wasn’t f****g with him. Coach used to sit him on the bench, take him out the game. That f***swith your mentality too, when you’re this great, and you’ve got this coach telling you, ‘Sit down, hold on,’ then when you get in, you definitely reckless because you ain’t in a groove. Basketball is a groove thing.”

“The coach and the player have to be on the same page to where you understand my minutes affect the way I play, and by you sitting me down, you affecting the way I play because now I can’t do the things I normally do,” Snoop elaborated.“Now I’m out here rushing and trying to get people involved instead of just running the game. Russell ain’t never sit on the bench… So now you got him sitting the bench for the Lakers? Come on man.”

To be fair, Westbrook was playing poorly before getting benched. But Vogel should also get plenty of blame for never figuring out how to better use the assets he had at hand. Now, he’s been shown the door and Russ will most likely follow.

The Purple and Gold finished with a 33-49 record, which has terribly fallen short of expectations as the team headed into the year with championship aspirations after a busy offseason. Not only the Lakers fell short in their quest for the title but they did not even get to play in the postseason at all.

While injuries may have played a part in the season’s failure, they have never played like a title-contending team. The veteran roster they set up in the summer didn’t work out as expected, with only LeBron James posting decent numbers for a team with playoff aspirations. Vogel’s job security was questioned throughout the entire season and it looked justa matter of time before the front office cut ties with him.

How many coacheshave the Los Angeles Lakershad?

Frank Vogel has been the 27th coach inLos Angeles Lakers history.The 48-year-old may have begun his tenure at the Lakers on the right foot, leading the team to a NBA championship in his first year at the helm when James and company emerged victioriousin the Orlando bubble in a pandemic-shortened season.

However, the following season was a huge disappointment as Los Angeles lost to eventual NBA finalists Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2020-21 playoffs. The worst was yet to come, though, as the Lakers would not even qualify for the postseason in the 2021-22, finishing 11th in the Western Conference.

List of Lakers coaches ordered by record: Where does Frank Vogel stand?

Vogel leaves the Lakers with a 127-98 record, which puts him in 12th place of the all-time Lakers coaches listordered by win-loss percentage. It’s important to note, however, that some coaches on this list had far less games.

* Table via Basketball Reference.

The Lakers then dominated in the bubble and won a ring under Vogel’s tutelage, so firing him didn’t make any sense. Then, Kidd left his position to coach the Dallas Mavericks, so he was no longer an option.

Fast-forward to today and Vogel is one of the guys to blame for the Lakers’ disastrous season. And, with back-to-back massive failures under his command, his days with the team may finally be numbered.

NBA News: Lakers To Fire Frank Vogel At The End Of The Season

“Now, as the finish line for this tumultuous 2021-22 campaign mercifully arrives, the Lakers are still expected to part ways with embattled play-caller Frank Vogel, sources told B/R, and the anticipated vacancy on Los Angeles’ bench has produced no shortage of potential candidates linked to fill the position,” wrote Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

NBA Rumors: Doc Rivers Is A Potential Candidate For The Lakers

So, now that the Lakers are finally expected to part ways with Vogel, the word around the league is that they could be lining up to hire Doc Rivers, who could be fired from the Sixers if they underperform in the playoffs:

“Doc Rivers, the Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach, is another active bench leader being mentioned by league personnel as a potential Lakers candidate,” Ficher added.“Rivers’ tenure in Philadelphia has also come into question of late, spurred by team president Daryl Morey’s deadline acquisition of James Harden and the mounting speculation that followed about a potential reunification with Harden’s former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni.”

One can only wonder whether Rivers is the right guy to uplift the Lakers given his well-documented history of playoff meltdowns. But what’s clear is that the team is in dire need of a huge shakeup.

That inconsistency and failure to make adjustments have followed Frank Vogel throughout his career. And, even during the Lakers’ championship season, some analysts thought he was a little over his head by coaching such a star-studded team.

The years have gone by and Vogel continues to get exposed and outcoached more often than not. That’s why, following another humiliating loss, Lakers legend James Worthy simply lost his cool once and for all.

Lakers News: James Worthy Has Had It With Frank Vogel, Blames Him For The Team’s Struggles

The Lakers’ postgame show started with Worthy in totaldisbelief of what he had just watched. Head on the table, complete silence; it took him a while before he could recollect himself and share his thoughts:

“I think he’s gotta take control of this,” Worthy said. “Call plays, make sure that they get good shot, make sure that they are versatile and not so one-dimensional and predictable because that’s all I’m seeing right now.”

“I don’t think they can get themselves out of this as players because they’ve had enough opportunities,” the three-time NBA championadded.“I mean they’ve got leadership, they’ve got some kind of virus. If they don’t get hold of it you know every team that comes into staples center, forget about on the road, if they don’t get a hold of this, every team that comes into the staples center is gonna have a lot of confidence thinking that in 4 quarters that they’ll be able to beat this team.”

Vogel may not be entirely to blame for how poorly constructed their roster is. But he’s failed to make the most of the talent he’s been given and his lack of adjustments have cost the Lakers leads over and over. He may not even finish the season if this doesn’t change now.

With LeBron James out fora number of games andRussell Westbrookoff to a bad start, the new-look Lakers have struggled to be consistent at the beginning of the season. Somethingthat hasinevatibly made Frank Vogel accountable.

While the team failed to take care of business inwinnable matches, the Lakers head coach had to take most of the blame for his side’s issues and reports haveeven put his positionin question. That’s why Jeanie Buss spoke to the media about this.

Lakers news: Jeanie Buss says Frank Vogel needs to have a healthy team to be evaluated

The Lakers did struggle to kick off their campaign as expected. But it’s also true that they’ve not been given a great hand as injuries caught up with them early in the season. And now, it looks like they’re finally turning things around.

During halftime of their fantastic 117-102win over Boston Celtics, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss put the Frank Vogel’s job security rumors to rest. “Until we’re 100% healthy, I don’t think you can really make any judgment,” Buss told NBA.com.

“We’re as connected as any organization can be. I really don’t know what you’re looking for me to say. I would say until we’re 100 percent healthy, I won’t make any judgments about anything,” she added.

And perhaps the evaluation could begin really soon for Vogel, as the Lakers only have two players out with injury right now, Kendrick Nunn and Trevor Ariza. The latter, however, is getting closer to his season debut.

Frank Vogel, LeBron James have also spoken up on the coach’s criticism

Well, everyone at the Lakers may have heard the noise around Frank Vogel’s future. The coach himself and LeBron James, of course, are no strangers to this situation and have spoken up about it.

“I think criticism comes with the job,” LeBronsaid. “Frank is a strong-minded guy. He has a great coaching staff. And we as his players have to do a better job of going out and producing on the floor… Frank doesn’t care and we don’t either, about what people are saying.“

“We’re focused on the job,” Vogel explained. “We stay in the moment, focus at the task at hand, try to win the next game, try to get some momentum around our season… It’s not up to me. So, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. Really, I’m just focused on the job.”

That should shut down all the rumors around the Lakers coach position, at least for a while. But from now on, with just a couple of players on the sidelinesthere won’t be more excuses. The timing looks good, though, as the purple and gold look like they are about toright the ship.

Practically nothing has been working for the Lakers so far. Russell Westbrook has left a lot to be desired, the team has failed to put many games away when it had the lead, and it has missed LeBron Jameson several occasions.

Fortunately, The Kinggot back sooner than expectedfollowinga false positive Covid-19 test. The Lakers have been heavily relying on James so far, which translated into a lot of workload on the 37-year-old. But Frank Vogel says to be veryaware of it.

Frank Vogel says Lakers always monitor LeBron James’ playing time

The concern around the Lakers’ dependenceon LeBronnot only has to do with theteam struggling to find other ways to get results. At 37 years of age, he might becarrying too muchworkload on his shoulders.

LeBron is averaging 36.9 minutes per game, his highest since he joined the Lakers and the most he has averaged since the 2017-18 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But everything is under control, according to Frank Vogel.

“We’re always monitoring his load and just being intelligent with it,” Vogel said, per SB Nation’s Silver Screen and Roll. “Obviously the overtime games are what they are. He’s going to be in there for those, but like you said, he has missed some time.

“The totality is I think less of a concern than if he played a triple-overtime game and then you played the next night, do you exercise caution in those instances? It’s just something that literally we monitor on a daily basis. We rely on the medical team and feedback on how he’s feeling and make smart decisions.”

Despitethe concern aroundhis playing time is valid, it’s LeBron James who we’re talking about. It’s not just an ordinaryveteran. If there’s someone who can manage this workload, it’s him.

Besides, we also have to consider the fact that he has been out for a number of games this season. Once he gets to play more regularly, maybe Vogel and company can manage his load differently. However, it’s also true that in order to rest him more his teammatesmust turnup their gamefast.

Rob Pelinka put together a competitive squad but the center position continues to be a bit of a headache. It’s not that they don’t have enough talent or depth there, but they lack a young player who can provide an energy boost for 35+ minutes a night.

On top of that, alternating between Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan has done little to help both veterans get into a rhythm. That’s why coach Frank Vogel claimed that he’ll take a game-to-game approach with his big men, giving most of the minutes to just one of them instead of staggering them on the court.

Lakers News: Frank Vogel Explains How He’ll Handle Dwight Howard And DeAndre Jordan

“We made the decision a couple games ago to—because we were trying to play both of those guys in really short minutes, is either one really able to get into a rhythm?—we made the decision to only use one of them (unless obviously we have foul trouble or what not),” Vogel said, as quoted by ClutchPoints.“It was DeAndre for a bit. I decided in the middle of the first quarter of last game that I wanted to see what Dwight could do. And it was Dwight for the rest of that game. And I do intend to start Dwight tomorrow against the Clippers. But it will be a situation we just monitor on a game-to-game basis going forward. But with the intention of really just giving those center minutes to just one player, not 2. Whether it’s DeAndre or Dwight.”

The coach added that all the members of the team were aware of the ultimate goal and that at the end of the day, they’ll be O.K. with those decisions:

“Everybody that signed on with us this year understands the bigger picture,” the coach added.“This is a team that is trying to compete for a championship, and sacrifice is going to be required at times. All of those conversations have been super healthy and well received.”

It’s still early in the season and the Lakers are only going to get healthier and better, so we wouldn’t count them out just yet if we were you guys.

The Lakers’ road win improved their record to 12-11, which still falls short of the expectations they had during the offseason. But the truth is that this win could have a great impact on the team’s morale for the remainder of the campaign.

Los Angeles have finally showed off all their firepowerafter starting the game on the wrong foot. Postgame, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook were among the players who emphasized on the importanceofFrank Vogel‘shalftime speech.

Anthony Davis andRussell Westbrook speak up onLakers’ comeback win in Sacramento

It looked like things would only get worse for the Lakers during their trip to Sacramento. But, after a weak start, they pulled off a complete different version in the second half, outscoring the Kings 67-33.

Clearly, the Lakers made the best of the break to turn things around. “At halftime we had a conversation about the team that we want to be,” Anthony Davis said, per SB Nation’s Silver Screen and Roll. “We’ve got to buckle down on the defensive end, and we were able to do that, hold them to 15, 18… That’s the way we’ve got to start the games, though. If we start the games with that defensive presence, we’ll be a very good team.”

But what did Frank Vogeltell them? “Coach was pretty upset, you know? But I think his whole point was ‘stop talking about wanting to win a championship and not giving the correct effort,’” Dwight Howard revealed. “And he’s right. he’s spot-on. You can’t keep saying ‘we want to win, we want to accomplish these different things’ if we’re not willing to put in the work.

“And we have to play together, and in the second half, I think we did that,” he continued. “I think that was one of the best third quarters we’ve had all year, and it’s because of the energy… So we’ve got to continue to play defense like this for the rest of the season, but one game at a time. One game at a time.”

Russell Westbrook, who didn’t have an easy start to life in Los Angeles, has also spoken about the halftime talk.“I think for the team it was good,” he said. “It got guys going, it got their minds right. But honestly, for me personally, I already knew I was playing ******, so I knew I had to step it up anyway for us to have a better chance to win the game, so that’s why there are two halves in this game, and the tale of two halves will tell the difference in tonight’s game.”

Westbrook’s point of view is pretty accurate. The Lakers looked like two different teams that night. But from now on, they’ll try toshow only the best version of themselves, starting with their game against the Clippers on Friday night.