If you are a Los Angeles Lakers fan hoping that the team either fires head coach Darvin Ham or makes some major changes to the roster soon, a top NBA insider has some very disappointing news for you.
The last few weeks have been a low point in the Lakers 2023-24 campaign. After being on a high after winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament and raising a new banner to the rafters, the team has been in a tailspin. Since winning the tourney LA has lost eight of their last 11 games.
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What has made matters worse is a brewing drama in the locker room. With certain players not matching the success they had last season, head coach Darvin Ham has tinkered with lineups and rotations in search of a winning formula for the second half of the season. However, the constant adjustments have left some players flabbergasted and led to frustrated calls to the front office from their agents.
It has created a huge amount of speculation that the organization could oust Ham in the hopes of avoiding a complete collapse this season. However, veteran NBA insider Marc Stein claims a lot more losing would need to happen before the Lakers’ brain trust seriously considered such a move.
Los Angeles Lakers situation would need to be ‘significantly’ worse before Darvin Ham is fired
“The current signals in circulation suggest that things would have to worsen significantly — significantly — for the 18-19 Lakers to truly put Darvin Ham’s job under immediate threat,” Stein wrote in a Monday Substack post. “League sources say Ham continues to enjoy very strong support from Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka.
“… Especially after the leadership Ham provided in his first season as the frequent voice and face for the franchise as it spent months in sub-.500 purgatory before finally surging into the playoffs with a 9-2 closing kick.”
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Well, does that mean Pelinka might shake up the roster like he did this time last year to create some momentum? Stein suggests that Los Angeles Lakers fans should not hold out hope of that happening either.
“The safest bet, via one well-placed source, is that the Lakers continue to ‘ride out this storm’ and try to capitalize on a home-heavy stretch that has them playing eight of their next nine games in Los Angeles,” he wrote. “That’s the approach we saw Sunday night when the Lakers held on to defeat a team that had won 14 consecutive games with Kawhi Leonard in uniform.”
