Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily ticket to stay ahead of the game and the first to know the latest news, analysis, and insider info for the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. Hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the Purple and Gold since 2005 for media outlets including the LA Times, ESPN and The Athletic, offer traditional journalism, informal commentary, and offbeat humor to provide expert, local analysis. Locked On Lakers takes you beyond the scoreboard for the inside scoops on the biggest stories from within the Lakers locker room and all over the NBA. The Locked On Lakers podcast is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
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episode 1968: Will the Lakers Fire Darvin Ham? Multiple Reports Say the Coach is on the Hot Seat.
The Lakers have a lot of decisions to make this offseason, but without question the highest profile choice is about Darvin Ham. Does LA fire him, as is the broad expectation based on multiple reports?
If so, why?
For starters, you can look to a few recent quotes, some from after Monday's loss and more in a story published by ESPN following the game. In both, Ham defended himself against accusations of mismanagement in areas like lineups and rotations, focusing on injuries that ruined his ability to be consistent. He defended himself against high profile benchings over the course of the season by asking what you're supposed to do if a player is "sh***ing the bed" for 10 games in a row? Given that the only three guys this really applies to are Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell, three of the team's five best players, you can forgive any of them for thinking the coach was publicly, well, pooping on their performance.
And while there some truth to what he's arguing, none of these statements were accompanied by any sense of accountability. The poor performance is the responsibility of fate, or players who aren't up to par, or a media that doesn't get it. Never about him and the staff, even if just to deal with the relationship management aspect of the job (which, it should be said, is probably the most important aspect of being an NBA head coach).
Still, the Lakers are reportedly engaging in a "post-mortem" to figure out what they want to do. On the surface, the results would seem self-evident: Ham has to go. But if he's fired, he needs to be replaced, which means the Lakers need to know who they want, and more importantly, why. What kind of coach are they looking for. Would yet another first-time head coach be a viable option? Is there a scenario where it makes more sense to try and repair a dynamic with a coach that a year ago seemed much more promising? One good year, one bad for a guy who was extremely well-regarded when the Lakers made the hire?
What would "repair" over "replace" entail?
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: Darvin Ham sounds like a man with many excuses.
SEGMENT 2: What do the Lakers want in a head coach?
SEGMENT 3: Is there a scenario where it makes more sense to keep Darvin?
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