The Los Angeles Lakers caught some flak for their decision to fire head coach Darvin Ham before last season, but it was something fans were very happy with. With JJ Redick clearly being a good head coach, it’s safe to say that the team is content with their decision.
Ham has spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks and is still looking for another opportunity to be a head coach. That might be coming soon. The New Orleans Pelicans decided to fire head coach Willie Green after a 2-11 start to the season.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Ham could be a target for the Pelicans.
“Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham, I’m told, is a name to watch in the Pelicans’ search,” Stein wrote.
The Pelicans have talent, but they haven’t been able to figure out their head coaching position. The team needs somebody to come in and bring consistency to the franchise. Considering Ham’s struggles with the Lakers, he might not be the right guy to turn the team around.
The Bucks have been disappointing this year, and Doc Rivers is on a very hot seat. There’s a chance that Ham could be asked to replace Rivers at some point this season. That’d be a better gig for him than the Pelicans.
Lakers Exceeding Expectations This Season
With LeBron James ruled out for the beginning portion of the season, many expected the Lakers to get out to a rough start. Instead, they are 10-4, and Law Murray of The Athletic ranked them as the seventh-best team in the NBA in his recent power rankings.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are 10-4, and they finished their road trip strong just as they say Aslan is on the move,” Murray wrote. “LeBron James has never had to debut after the start of his team’s season, but not only will he do so at age 40, he will do so on a team that does not need to be saved. The timing is also interesting, as the Lakers play only the Utah Jazz (twice) over nine days, enough time to have a James training camp.”
There are some concerns about reintegrating James into the lineup, but he’s arguably the greatest basketball player ever, so it’s most likely that it’ll give the team a big boost.
Redick Proving to Be Right Coach for Lakers
There were some major question marks when the Lakers decided to hire Redick as their head coach. He had no NBA coaching experience, and he was being asked to lead the NBA’s most popular and historic franchise.
So far, it’s looking like a stroke of genius by the Lakers. It’s difficult to see Ham steering the Lakers to a 10-4 record without James, and Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves missing multiple games.
The Lakers seemed ot have a lot of belief in Redick, as they gave him a contract extension after one season with the team. It remains to be seen if he’ll have playoff success after last year’s disappointment, but he clearly knows how to push the right buttons in the regular season.
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