The Los Angeles Lakers seem to be heading towards another coaching search as reports indicate that head coach Darvin Ham is expected to be let go after two seasons.
Finding a quality head coach has been a problem for the Lakers as they have already had six of them since Phil Jackson retired in 2011 and now will likely be looking for a seventh. Since Jackson, Luke Walton has coached the most games for the Lakers and he only lasted three seasons.
One of the biggest mistakes the Lakers made in recent years was not bringing in Tyronn Lue to replace Walton in 2019 despite LeBron James’ wishes.
It appears they may have another chance to make that happen though as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported on the Dan Patrick Show that Lue and JJ Redick are among the candidates once the Lakers start looking for a new coach:
“Certainly, LeBron’s opinion is weighed by Rob Pelinka when he goes about doing his business, he calls him a stakeholder. But that said, LeBron’s opinion was known back a couple years ago when LeBron wanted Ty Lue to be the head coach to replace Luke Walton, that didn’t happen. So it’s not just because LeBron puts a rubber stamp on a guy that the Lakers are automatically gonna ink them to be the new guy running the sidelines. But certainly his influence matters and also the Lakers are a glamour franchise and like themselves to be considered that way and you get a guy with some cache in JJ Redick if you were to pull him off the number one broadcast team at ESPN and ABC right onto the sidelines, good looking guy, looks good in a suit. They did this with Pat Riley many, many years ago and we saw how that worked out. JJ certainly is a real candidate if they do open up this coaching search. But there’s, I’d say, half a dozen folks out there, including possibly the guy who just lost last night against the Mavericks, Tyronn Lue, he has one year remaining on his contract, what’s gonna happen with his deal with the Clippers? There will be a process there that there are several viable candidates that will get an interview.”
Lue obviously has a history with James dating back to their time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, so if the Lakers are trying to keep their star happy and avoid him leaving this summer then Lue should be their top option.
While Lue is still currently the head coach of the L.A. Clippers, they are on the verge of a first round exit and he does not have a long-term contract, leading many to believe a parting of ways is possible.
Redick is also someone that has a close relationship with James after starting a podcast together earlier in this year. He recently interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets job so seems to be interested in getting into coaching.
Once the Lakers make news official that Ham will be let go, they can begin their coaching search, likely interviewing a number of candidates with Lue and Redick seeming to be firmly in the mix.
Darvin Ham reflects on two seasons as Lakers head coach
Even though he hasn’t officially been told he is out of a job yet, the writing has been on the wall for Darvin Ham and he reflected on his two seasons in the Lakers organization.
“That’s a great question. It’s tough,” Ham said. “My mind’s all over the place right now, so that’s a great question…but maybe at some point later on I’ll give you an answer. It’s been a hell of a two years, though, I’ll tell you that. Sitting in this seat, it’s been a hell of a two years. Lot of good things that got done, but ultimately you want to win that ultimate prize.
“I know what that feels like, had that feeling a couple of times so want to do everything in your power not to…to prevent feeling this feeling now, the feeling of defeat. But again, I’m gonna control what I can control, continue to grow and hopefully be a better coach for it.”
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