The Lakers have prospects to take Darvin Ham’s spot.
The Los Angeles Lakers dismissed head coach Darvin Ham to kick off the off-season with a bang, even though the NBA Playoffs are still very much ongoing.
Following Ham’s dismissal, LA has already begun the process of selecting a new head coach for their team. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Lakers are considering hiring Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson. This is precisely what Charania said in her tweet.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have parted ways with coach Darvin Ham, and sources tell me and @jovanbuha an extensive search will commence soon, with candidates such as Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and, if he becomes available, Ty Lue among others.”
The head coaching position with the Los Angeles Lakers is, to be honest, the most difficult in the NBA. Too frequently, the team’s head coach will get all the slander and none of the accolades. Even when a player like Frank Vogel helped the team win an NBA title, he was fired soon after and got relatively little recognition. If Kenny Atkinson accepts the position, he must be prepared to acknowledge that he will be under constant scrutiny.
Atkinson’s tenure as the Brooklyn Nets’ head coach only lasted from 2016 to 2020. In 2022, while playing for the Golden State Warriors, he took home an NBA championship.