The Los Angeles Lakers have
pulled the plug and are dismissing head coach Darvin Ham, the team
announced Saturday morning.
Amid all the rumors and
speculations surrounding the development, the Lakers have parted
ways with the coach who has been with them for over two
years.
There were early reports over
the past week after the Lakers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets in Round
1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha was quoted
saying, “The latest I’ve heard is the plan is still to move on from
Darvin (Ham) at some point, likely by the end of the week,
potentially as early as tomorrow, then the head coaching search
will start. I’ve already started to hear some names from different
people.”
And today, the team finally made
it official in a team statement.
Lakers Part Ways With Head Coach Darvin Ham
pic.twitter.com/or3Bx2mZ5w— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers)
May 3, 2024
Ham and the Lakers have had a
good run, going 90-74 over the past two seasons. Ham led LA to the
Western Conference Finals in 2023 but got swept by the Denver
Nuggets. The Lakers got back stronger this year, finishing with a
47-35 record, but got ousted again by the Nuggets in 5
games.
Along with Ham, the Lakers’
entire coaching staff including Phil Handy and the others was also
dismissed by LA’s front office.
An extensive coaching search is
set to commence as the Lakers continue their pursuit of that
elusive 18th championship banner. This development will add to an
already busy offseason of roster moves and the impending decision
of superstar LeBron James about his future with the
team.
