Los Angeles Lakers superstar and multi-time NBA champion Lebron James reportedly has a favorite among the crop of finalists for the team’s head coaching gig.
Before the Lakers can look to improve on a very disappointing season in 2021-2022, the team must find a replacement for dismissed former head coach Frank Vogel. The man who led the team to an NBA championship in 2020 could not survive a year when the team finished with a 33-49 record and couldn’t even land a spot in one of the Western Conference’s two play-in playoff games.
In the end, Vogel is being used as the scapegoat for the team’s failures, and Russell Westbrook’s having a career-worst season in year one in Los Angeles.
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On Thursday, various reports stated that several coaches that interviewed for the job had reached the final stage of interviews. Those names included Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, and current Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson. Well, it seems that the team’s franchise player has a preference among the trio.
Lebron James wants Darvin Ham as Los Angeles Lakers’ next coach
On Saturday, Bleacher Report NBA writer Eric Pincus speculated that Ham would be the best fit for the Lakers and that a source confirmed to him LBJ is a fan.
“Ham spent two years with the organization. His personality isn’t easily forgotten,” Pincus explained. “Ham brings a lot of energy to a gym. He’s arguably the best fit for the locker room, with veterans like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and possibly Russell Westbrook in need of a coach they can relate to and respect. ‘He’s the guy LeBron wants,’ a competing source said.”
Darvin Ham’s first coaching job in the league was as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2011 to 2013. Eventually, he would move on to a similar role with the Atlanta Hawks and has spent the last four seasons in Milwaukee. If given the job, it would be his first opportunity as a head coach in the NBA.