Three possible candidates to replace Lakers' Darvin Ham
There's a growing clamor that Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has lost his players, and it may not be long for his job.
Here are three possible head coaches who could take over for Ham in Los Angeles.
Doc Rivers
If and when the Lakers choose a new head coach, the feelings of LeBron James are paramount. Buzz around the league is that King James’ preferred Ham replacement is former Sixers and Clippers coach and current ESPN analyst Doc Rivers.
James hasn’t come out and demanded his coach’s firing, but he has pointedly avoided voicing support for Ham.
It’s likely no coincidence that James declined to speak with reporters after the team lost to the Miami Heat. This morning, the internet was awash with stories about how Ham was losing the team.
Rivers won a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and took the team to a close seven-game NBA Finals in 2010. He hasn’t had the same postseason success with the Clippers or 76ers, but he’s also consistently taken his teams to the playoffs.
Sure, Rivers hasn’t gotten out of the second round since 2012, but making the second round would be a wild success for the 17-18 Lakers.
Mike Budenholzer
If the Lakers truly have championship aspirations, there’s one coach available who has won a championship in the last decade. That’s Mike Budenholzer, who was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks two years after leading them to a title in 2021.
Coach Bud has a history of success with two different teams, taking the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals and making a series of deep playoff runs with the Bucks. He’s also had his share of playoff failures, suffering upsets to the Miami Heat in two of the last four seasons.
Of course, the Heat went to the NBA Finals each of those playoffs, which should make the sting of Milwaukee losing to a No. 8 seed last May less brutal.
Without Budenholzer, the Bucks defense has gotten significantly worse, dropping from the NBA’s fourth-best defensive rating to its 22nd-best. Some of that is due to swapping Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard, but much of the difference is losing Coach Bud’s effective scheme.
If the Lakers want to improve schematically and in their rotations, Budenholzer may be the best candidate.
Phil Jackson
The only other title-winning coach of the last 15 years without a current job? It’s Phil Jackson, who won five titles with the Lakers after winning six with the Chicago Bulls.
Sure, Jackson hasn’t coached since 2011 and hasn’t worked in the NBA since he was dismissed as New York Knicks team president in 2017. But there’s no living coach with a better resume than Jackson, even if his triangle offense and Zen philosophy have fallen out of fashion.
But two points are working in his favor. First, he loves assigning books to his players to read. James always picks a book to read during the playoffs — even if it seems like he’s always on the first few pages.
The second reason is that Jackson’s longtime girlfriend, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, recently married comedian Jay Mohr.
What better way to show Buss what she’s missing than by turning this stumbling Lakers team around?
Jackson could shove his success in the “Gary Unmarried” star’s face by saving this Lakers season, and the allure of impressing his ex might be the one thing that could lure Jackson out of retirement.
More must-reads: