Arguments against head coach Darvin Ham will only get worse after the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Atlanta Hawks, despite the fact that his team was missing players due to injuries.This time it was Anthony Davis, whose groin injury caused him to miss the loss to Atlanta. But the flow en route to the final result of the game was reminiscent of many other losses this season. “It may not matter what acquisitions the Lakers make since Ham has also been one of the NBA’s worst coaches and it appears he has lost the trust of his roster,” The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor wrote on January 30. “Blame is shared by everyone in charge. Hiring an unproven head coach was a risk by [General Manager Rob] Pelinka and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss from the beginning.”
The Lakers, in O’Connor’s opinion, require a “better head coach.” He also thinks LeBron James might be thinking of someone to take Ham’s place.
If LeBron had the same level of influence as he did in Cleveland when David Blatt was fired in the middle of the 2015–16 campaign, By now, Ham would also have been fired, most likely in favor of assistant coach Phil Handy, according to O’Connor.
Buss was “too cheap,” according to O’Connor, to bring on Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue for 2019. One year after Frank Vogel was hired by the Lakers, Lue took Doc Rivers’ place on the Clippers.
However, the notion that Handy might take Ham’s place is not entirely novel.
Players’ Disconnection From Darvin Ham Started Phil Handy Talks
There is an increasing gulf between Ham and the Lakers locker room, according to reports from Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The head coach’s lineup and rotation adjustments, some of which were brought on by injuries, were in question.
Ham maintained that the Lakers’ injuries were preventing them from becoming a consistent team in terms of lineups or on-court performance.Players like Austin Reaves rejected that, saying they had enough to be better than they were. Darvin Ham Takes Stand Amid Rumored Discontent in Lakers’ Locker Room “It doesn’t help Ham’s cause that his messaging has been so different from that of the players in the locker room,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote on January 5. “The other factor here, as is always the case in situations like these, relates to a possible replacement.
Phil Handy, the assistant coach of the Lakers, is more frequently mentioned as a potential pick when you speak with individuals who are more involved in the situation. Again, though, we’re not quite there yet.
Phil Handy: Who Is He?
One of the most well-liked basketball coaches is Handy. In the mid-1990s, he was a standout student at the University of Hawaii. In addition, Handy has won three NBA championships as a coach, including championships with the 2016 Cavaliers and 2020 Lakers teams that featured LeBron James.
Additionally, he assisted in bringing Lakers forward Rui Hachimura—who the Lakers acquired prior to the trade deadline last season—to a higher level of performance.
James is one of the players with whom Handy already has a clear connection. However, Ham is also in danger of many of the same possible pitfalls. The biggest one is Handy’s inexperience as a head coach.
Handy stated that he opted to stay under Ham during the previous offseason rather than pursue a role with Vogel and the Phoenix Suns.
Maybe there was always the possibility that Handy would replace Ham.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, concentrating on the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls. Since 2016, he has written about the NBA and NFL for FanSided, Last Word on Sports, and Clocker Sports, among other publications. Illinois’ Villa Park is home to him. Josh’s handle on Instagram and Twitter is @JoshGBuck. Additional details regarding Josh Buckhalter
