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It’s been seven months since the Lakers fired Darvin Ham, and he’s still surprised he’s no longer coaching the team.
Ham, who had a 90-74 record in two seasons in Los Angeles, led the Lakers to the Western Conference finals in his first year and back to the playoffs the following year, while also leading them to victory in the inaugural NBA Cup. This season’s tournament led the way.
And then he was fired in May, days after the Denver Nuggets eliminated the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
“I swear to God that I’ll do as well as I did, somewhere else I’ll probably consider an extension of what I did,” Ham told Andscape on Tuesday.
Ham, now an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, improved to 14-0 in NBA Cup games later that evening as the Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to win this year’s regular-season tournament.
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Ham was hired by the Lakers as their first head coach in 2022 after spending 11 years as an assistant with the Lakers, Atlanta Hawks and Bucks. Despite everything the Lakers have accomplished during Ham’s tenure, it’s hard to imagine too many people in LA being surprised by his firing.
A number of fans have been calling for Ham’s resignation on social media for some time. And reports had emerged that some of Ham’s lineup decisions and in-game adjustments were causing frustration in the locker room.
Still, Ham told Andscape he was “extremely disappointed and at a loss” when he was fired after the Lakers were eliminated in the postseason by the Nuggets for the second straight year.
“I’m not talking about feelings. “I’m talking about actual facts,” Ham said. “They went from not making the playoffs to the Final Four in the NBA, the Conference Finals. “And then you win the regular-season tournament, overcome all the injuries and win both play-in games to get into the playoffs.”
Read more: Darvin Ham survived the road, a stray bullet and great sadness as Lakers coach
He had much more to say on the subject:
– “You feel like you’ve done enough to stay in one place. I felt like I did that.
– “It’s been reported as if I was just throwing a few lineups against the wall to see what sticks. No, man, we really had to make a lot of moves from injured guys to the oldest player in the league [LeBron James] to navigate [Anthony Davis’] Injury history. It was a lot.”
– “Some of the things that came out? Wow, bro, I don’t know X and O? I winged it. Dude, that was really disappointing, how mean and so many things people say online.”
Ham also told Andscape that he hasn’t had any significant contact with James or Davis since leaving LA
“I haven’t spoken to anyone,” Ham said. “When we played against them in pre-season I said hello to a few guys. Jaxson [Hayes]Cam [Reddish]D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell]Gabe [Vincent]. But not really, man. LeBron ran past the bench and we chatted for a bit.
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The Lakers are 14-12 and in 10th place in the West under Ham’s successor, first-year coach JJ Redick. At this point last year, they were 15-11 and tied for eighth place in the conference, although they lost eight of their next 10 games and fell to 11th.
“For me, there’s no ill will,” said Ham, whose Bucks are 14-11 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. “Your situation is what it is.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
