Darvin Ham could be on the hot seat because of player lineup and rotation changes and the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers just aren’t winning, according to a report from NBA insider Shams Charania.
Charania says the various lineup changes have played a role. That includes taking Austin Reaves out of the starting lineup and inserting D’Angelo Russell. Then taking Russell out of the lineup and inserting Jarred Vanderbilt. It has players questioning Ham’s decisions.
“He has tried 10 different lineups this season,” Charania said on the Run It Back podcast.
The moves have caused the Lakers to lose nine of their last 12 games, right after they won the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Anthony Davis is playing some of his best basketball right now and LeBron James just turned 39. So, the feeling with the Lakers is this team should be winning.
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Darvin Ham has seen ups and downs as Los Angeles Lakers coach
On the podcast, Chanaria points out that Ham has gone through several ups and downs in the past two seasons.
The Lakers started 2-10 last season with Russell Westbrook in the lineup and then put it together to make a run to the Western Conference Final. Westbrook was dealt at the trade deadline as part of a three-team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz to bring in Russell, Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley. (If the Lakers had gotten Mike Conley from Utah, who went to Minnesota, the deal would have been better for L.A.)
In the playoffs last season, the Lakers knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors before being swept by the eventual-champion Denver Nuggets.
But the recent struggles and moves have players, who played well for Darvin Ham last season and earlier this season, questioning the coach.