Report: Darvin Ham Has ‘Solid Support’ From Lakers Front Office

According to NBA insider Baxter Holmes of ESPN, head coach Darvin Ham has “solid support” from the Los Angeles Lakers front office. 

Ham has been under fire at times this season, but he won’t get fired by the Lakers. 

In January, NBA insiders Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported that there was a deepening disconnect between Ham and the Lakers locker room. After that report went viral, Los Angeles owner Jeanie Buss texted Ham and told him his job was safe.

The Lakers are only 30-26 this season despite having LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. Ham’s group is 13th in the NBA in points per game and 18th in points per game allowed.

Ham raised eyebrows in the Lakers organization when he started LeBron, Cam Reddish, Taurean Prince, Jarred Vanderbilt and Davis on December 23 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That starting lineup was awful. Ham is now starting D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron and Davis.

The Lakers’ brass thought about moving Prince at the trade deadline, but Ham was one of the vocal supporters of retaining the veteran due to their rapport, per Buha. Ham and Prince were on the Atlanta Hawks together from 2016-17 to 2017-18.

Ham finally benched Prince on February 3 against the New York Knicks, a move numerous LAL fans have been asking for. The Lakers started Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, LeBron and Davis and beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden by a final score of 113-105.

Prince has played better since coming off the bench. He’s averaging 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 55.3% from the field, 45.0% from beyond the arc and 69.2% from the foul line over his last six games. The Lakers are 5-1 during that stretch. 

Los Angeles got swept by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. It will be intriguing to see how the team performs in the second half of this season under Ham.