Lakers News: Darvin Ham Not Satisfied With Western Conference Finals Appearance

LA's rookie head coach wants to get to the promised land.

First-year Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is not satisfied with LA's Western Conference appearance this season, which in itself was at least somewhat impressive following the club's miserable start to the season.

“Coming into next year, there’s gonna be expectations… I didn’t come here to have more wins than losses, or make a playoff round 1, or make a playoff run, I came to win.”

Darvin Ham on the Lakers’ focus going into the offseason 🗣️pic.twitter.com/sdCCoqSIV8

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 23, 2023

“Coming into next year, there’s gonna be expectations," Ham noted. "I didn’t come here to have more wins than losses, or make a playoff round one, or make a playoff run, I came to win.” 

Ham had a pretty terrific first season as a head coach in LA, all things considered. Yes, he began the year with a paltry 2-10 record, but that was more the fault of the team's terrible roster-building, centered around a trio of overpaid, redundant, past-their-prime point guards in Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn. 

The club was steered in the right direction following a flurry of moves around the NBA trade deadline, when Rob Pelinka balanced out the roster, adding more shooting via guards D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley, more defense with big men Jarred Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba, and most importantly, more big scoring potential with forward Rui Hachimura. After all these deals were made, Los Angeles finished on an 18-9 kick to close the year, became the No. 7 seed (43-39) heading into the postseason, and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, thanks in part to Ham's flexibility when it came to roster rotations and situational adjustments.

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