For the fourth time since LeBron James‘ arrival in 2018, the Los Angeles Lakers have dismissed their head coach and are looking for a new outside hire.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported that Darvin Ham had been fired as head coach on May 3.
Shams Charania of The Athletic followed up the Ham news with a preliminary list of candidates for the Lakers’ head coaching job.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have severed ties with coach Darvin Ham,” Charania tweeted on May 3. “And sources tell me and @jovanbuha an extensive search will begin soon, with candidates such as Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and, if he becomes available, Ty Lue among others.”
Los Angeles faced a second-consecutive elimination by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs.
Anthony Davis and James displayed their superstar skills throughout the series, but it was only enough for one win in Game 4 to avoid the sweep. The Los Angeles Lakers season ends with the five-game series.
As does Darvin Ham’s tenure with the team.
Ty Lue the Least and Most Likely
To see Ty Lue’s name come up as a candidate is not surprising to many.
The mutual respect between James and his 2016 head coach is well known. It makes him an obvious candidate.
But the fact that he is still employed as the head coach of the LA Clippers puts a question mark on it all.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, discussed the viability of Lue as a candidate with Malika Andrews on May 3.
“I don’t think it’s practical based on this,” Wojnarowski said. “Ty Lue still has a year left on his contract, and the Clippers are determined to do a longterm deal with Ty Lue, I’m told. They want him to be their coach for a very long time. That’s a conversation that will happen after the playoffs are over. But they love the job he did this season, they love the job he’s done there.”
Lue’s future with the Clippers could depend on the free agencies of James Harden and Paul George, who Wojnarowski went on to report they want to re-sign.
If either or both of them departed this offseason, the entire franchise would have to reassess their standing in the Western Conference.
The Lakers won’t hold their breath, and fortunately face a field of available coaches that have seen success in the NBA.
The Rest of the Reported Field
Wojnarowski went on to discuss Mike Budenholzer’s position in the Los Angeles coaching search.
“Of course the Lakers offered the job to Ty Lue back before Frank Vogel got it,” Wojnarowski continued. “They couldn’t come to terms on a deal, and so you start to look out in the marketplace. Mike Budenholzer is probably the most accomplished coach available, won a championship in Milwaukee, rebuilt, was also Coach of the Year in Atlanta.”
After a championship run in 2021, Budenholzer was fired and replaced with Adrian Griffin last summer, who was replaced by Doc Rivers.
Other names Wojnarowski mentioned include Golden State Warriors‘ top assistant Kenny Atkinson, and James Borrego, an associate head coach with the New Orleans Pelicans.
“It always isn’t going necessarily big game hunting when it comes to Laker head coaches,” said Wojnarowski. “You may see other candidates who’ve had success as head coaches, a Kenny Atkinson, a James Borrego, coaches of that ilk certainly could be part of this conversation.”
The NBA’s well-known cycle of coaching changes continues in Los Angeles, as the Lakers are once again looking for a coach who can lead them to a championship with Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
Happy hunting, Rob Pelinka.
