Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham is officially on the hot seat and it will get even hotter should the Lakers lose their first-round playoff series to the Denver Nuggets in five games, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Lakers currently trail the series, 3-1, with Game 5 set for Monday night in Denver (10 p.m. EST). LA had lost 11 straight to the Nuggets before snapping the skid in Game 4.
“If you are a head coach of the Lakers and you get swept in the first round of the playoffs, or you lose in five, you’ve got job issues. You’ve got job security issues,” Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown. “And Darvin Ham will have that.”
Wojnarowski did go on to note that Los Angeles advanced to the Western Conference Finals last season, before being swept by the Nuggets. This year, they won more games (47) than last (43), Ham’s first as head coach.
As for a potential replacement, Wojnarowski said ex-Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is the “most accomplished” available coach out there — though Budenholzer may be looking for a larger salary than the Lakers may be willing to pay.
Woj added that it may not be all that fair for the Lakers to consider firing Ham after two seasons and moderate success, but said should LA lose in five games, “it is part of the conversation the Lakers are going to have.”
The Lakers finished with the No. 7 seed in the West and needed to work their way into the playoffs via the play-in tournament for the second straight year.
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