Lakers News: Darvin Ham Reportedly Had Been Long Expected to be Fired

The Purple and Gold let him go after just two seasons.

Apr 27, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham during warms up before game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports / Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

Now-former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham apparently long expected to be canned, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

As Shelburne notes, none of the six coaches the Lakers have brought in since Phil Jackson left for the final time in 2011 has lasted more than three seasons. This is made all the more strange given that one, Frank Vogel, instantly led the club to its record-tying 17th NBA title the first year he was hired, 2019-20.

During Ham's first season, he navigated a difficult situation with an ill-conceived roster loaded down by three pricey, washed-up point guards in Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn. After team president Rob Pelinka offloaded that triumvirate and balanced his personnel, the Purple and Gold predictably went on a run, finishing with a respectable 43-39 record and the Western Conference's No. 7 seed. Then, as an underdog, L.A. battled all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where it ultimately fell to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. Again, it was a respectable finish.

This past season, the Lakers finished with a 47-35 record in a far more competitive West, securing the No. 7 seed by besting the 49-win New Orleans Pelicans in their first play-in tournament game. Los Angeles unfortunately suffered an ignominious first round defeat after being matched up with Denver again, falling in five games. Pelinka promptly fired him after just two seasons.

Ham faced criticism from his two All-Star players, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, during that Denver series, and that seemed to ultimately be his final undoing. Even Nuggets head coach Michael Malone could sense Ham's time might be limited, and defended his work after beating him.

Pelinka will now oversee the hiring of the fourth head coach he'll have brought on since 2016.

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