3 Head Coaches Who Can Immediately Replace Darvin Ham On The Lakers
The Lakers are not looking like the steady franchise we saw make it to the 2023 Western Conference Finals after being an 11th seed for most of last season. Darvin Ham did a great job as a rookie head coach, especially in the playoffs to give the Lakers a defensive identity that carried them to their success.
Ham had shown troubling coaching tendencies throughout last season, something he has carried over to this year. He ends up tinkering with his lineups a little too much to try and find consistency. He also tends to run his players into the ground, as he did with LeBron James last winter, and is on track to do the same against this season. Fans have been asking for a coaching change consistently, and it seems the Lakers are considering it.
In the case of Ham's mid-season dismissal, who can the Lakers pursue to steady the ship and still be in a position to deliver them a title? Here are three possible candidates.
Doc Rivers
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Doc Rivers is intimately familiar with the LA area, having spent almost a decade in charge of the Los Angeles Clippers. The 2008 NBA Championship-winning head coach is coming off a mediocre stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, ending in two consecutive second-round exits. His ability to be a championship-winning coach has been in question for years now, squandering more series leads than he has been able to protect. He's working for ESPN right now, but as Tristan Thompson showed, you can leave ESPN for an opportunity to work for a team easily.
Rivers' championship credentials have been in question for a while now, but he provides a baseline of stability that the Lakers clearly need. Playoff execution on LeBron-led teams often comes down to LeBron himself. Maybe Rivers and 'Bron can have a harmonious partnership that allows both to succeed. Rivers has succeeded as a defensive coach, making sure that the Lakers' strengths are magnified.
He has adapted to modern offenses as well as any old-school coach has been able to. The Lakers are an intriguing fit for him, but the potential of it to go wrong likely keeps both parties trepidatiously away from each other. Rivers likes to exercise a lot of control over his group, so it'll be interesting to see if he can co-exist with LeBron and Rob Pelinka. If he can, it could be a game-changer for LA compared to Ham.
Mike Budenholzer
Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Budenholzer left the Milwaukee Bucks over the summer after a shocking first-round exit at the hands of the Miami Heat. He also dealt with a major personal issue which explains why he took a sabbatical from the NBA for this season. In a situation similar to Quin Snyder's last season, the correct job opening could tempt Budenholzer to return to the NBA. An opportunity with the Lakers for the 2021 champion could be really hard to turn down, especially given the roster the team has and how Budenholzer can use it.
The Bucks defense has fallen off this season, which isn't only because of Jrue Holiday. Budenholzer was an astute defensive coach, achieving similar results as to what Frank Vogel did during his days with the Pacers. The difference is that Budenholzer actually got over the hump with the Bucks as well. With the Lakers roster, he could transform them into a defensive machine.
The downside to hiring Bud is his stubbornness. He resists making many in-game adjustments, which was one of the reasons Erik Spoelstra outcoached him in 2020 and 2023. Darvin Ham was groomed under Budenholzer's tutelage in Milwaukee, so could the Lakers find a way to bring in Bud and retain Ham? Unlikely, but Budenholzer is definitely a name that could help transform the Lakers and maintain their win-now expectations.
Kenny Atkinson
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Kenny Atkinson is currently serving as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. It's unclear if he could leave the Warriors mid-season to take an opening for the rival Lakers. When Mike Brown transitioned from assistant coach to head coach of the Kings, he did it at the end of the season. Atkinson is a crucial member of the Warriors, so the Lakers may have to get creative on finding a way to get the former Nets head coach on their squad.
Atkinson was leading the Brooklyn Nets to a revival in the late 2010s, excelling with D'Angelo Russell as his primary star. Joining the Lakers reunites him with Russell while giving him an opportunity to coach one of the most historic franchises in the NBA after nearly four seasons out of a head coaching gig. Rivers is a balanced coach, Budenholzer is a defensive coach, but Atkinson is a coach that could supercharge the Lakers offense.
The problem with Atkinson would be his lack of recent experience as a head coach. But LeBron James took Tyronn Lue as a rookie head coach and won a title. Even Ham was a rookie head coach last season and they still had a great run. Atkinson has experience but may struggle to implement his ideas on a Lakers team that doesn't have many offensive pieces. Reuniting him with Russell may lead to growth for the struggling guard, but it would be a risky hire, even though it could reap massive rewards.
Alternative Solution
Phil Handy
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Just for closing thoughts, we wanted to entertain the possibility of Phil Handy being promoted from assistant coach to head coach of the Lakers. He would allow the team to maintain the continuity it has built not only over the Ham era but also the Frank Vogel era. Handy is also arguably the most player-friendly coach in the NBA, spending his summers working on skill training for players.
The one concern with Handy is that he may be extremely proficient at skill coaching players, but not as proficient at running an NBA-caliber team. There is no sample size that we can look at to identify what Handy's coaching strengths would be. Ham was known to be a defensive specialist when the Lakers signed him off Budenholzer's Milwaukee staff. Handy is a skills coach, and expecting the jump from that to full-time team head coach could be challenging.
Either way, Handy has a strong rapport with the Lakers roster and they respect him. Just that could lead to incredible success for the franchise going forward, even if they decide to get rid of Ham.
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