Lakers News: Odds Revealed For Darvin Ham Replacement As Next LA Head Coach

Or will he stick around?

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

With the Denver Nuggets having eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers from the NBA playoffs on Monday night, many expect Lakers head coach Darvin Ham to get fired. Ham, who has been the Lakers' head coach since 2022, has been on the hot seat for much of the season. Getting eliminated during the first round of the playoffs in a 4-1 series loss has only put his job further in jeopardy.

While Ham has not been fired yet, the odds have come out on who is most likely to replace him if he does get fired. Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy has the top odds to replace Ham at +200. Handy has been the Lakers assistant coach since 2019, coming to Los Angeles just one year after LeBron James did in 2018. He was part of the Lakers' 2020 NBA championship run. Prior, he worked as an assistant coach on the Cleveland Cavaliers for four years with James from 2014-2018, helping them win a title in 2016.

Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder and Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Juwan Howard are tied for second with +650 odds. Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley and Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell are tied for fourth with +700 odds, via Bovada.

Phil Handy is currently the favorite to be the next Los Angeles Lakers Coach

Phil Handy +200
Juwan Howard +650
Quin Snyder +650
Jared Dudley +700
Sam Cassell +700
Kenny Atkinson +800
Steve Clifford +900
JB Bickerstaff +1200
Mike Brown +1600
LeBron James +2200 pic.twitter.com/r3FrtD5xoH

— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) April 30, 2024

Former Los Angeles head coach Mike Brown also has +1600 odds to become the head coach again. Brown coached the Lakers for from 2011-2012, but was fired early into his second season with the team struggling. Brown also coached James two different times during his two different stints as the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach.

James himself has the 10th highest odds to become the Lakers head coach with +2200 odds, per Bovada. This scenario does seem unlikely though since James is expected to continue playing for at least a couple more seasons.

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