Bucks assistant Darvin Ham a finalist in Pacers' coaching search

Bucks assistant Darvin Ham is receiving head coaching interest from multiple teams, according to a report from Malika Andrews of ESPN, who tweets that Ham is a finalist for the Pacers‘ head coaching job. In addition to meeting with Indiana’s top decision-makers in person soon, Ham will also interview for the Clippers‘ head coaching job this week, says Andrews.

Ham and fellow Bucks assistant Charles Lee were previously identified as candidates for the Pacers’ head coaching job, but Andrews’ note that he has advanced beyond the first round of interviews is new. Indiana reportedly talked to at least 20 candidates during the first round of the team’s coaching search, but it’s unclear how significantly the field has been narrowed since then.

Dave Joerger was said last week to be a strong contender for the Pacers’ vacancy. Mike D’Antoni, Chauncey Billups and many others have also been linked to the job.

As for the Clippers, Tyronn Lue was dubbed the early front-runner for that job. Mike Brown has also interviewed, and now Ham will too. Los Angeles is said to be conducting a full-fledged search for Doc Rivers‘ replacement, so you'd imagine more names will be added to the club’s list of candidates in the coming days.

A former NBA forward, Ham has impressed teams with his work as an assistant under Mike Budenholzer. He was a member of the Hawks staff from 2013-18 before being hired by Milwaukee in 2018. He also served as a Lakers assistant from 2011-13.

Ham reportedly received head coaching interest from the Bulls and 76ers this summer before those teams went in other directions.