Ex-Lakers Center Endorses 1-Time Champion to Coach LeBron James, Anthony Davis

The Los Angeles Lakers are taking their time to find the next head coach. Frank Vogel had to leave the team right after the end of the regular season. The Lakers lost too many games and Vogel was the first to go. The team has been linked to several coaches. Who is the next coach to work with LeBron James and Anthony Davis?

Robert Sacre bets on Darvin Ham.

@Lakers head coach https://t.co/PyaIUTO7lf

— Robert Sacre (@Bobby_Sacre) April 30, 2022

Let’s add fuel to the fire. The Lakers have already requested a permission to interview the Milwaukee Bucks assistant.

The Michigan native played college basketball at Texas Tech, averaging 8.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 90 games. Ham went undrafted in the 1996 NBA Draft and joined the Toronto Raptors as a free agent.

Ham played split his career between the Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, and even Spain. He returned to the country to join the Milwaukee Bucks. This stint was followed by a stint with the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons. Ham got his ring with the Pistons after beating the Lakers.

New coach for LeBron and Davis

The Lakers hired Ham as an assistant in 2011. He stayed with the team until 2013.

Bill Oram and Eric Nehm of The Athletic believe Ham is the right coach for the purple and gold.

“The Lakers said they wanted a strong locker room presence in whoever replaces Frank Vogel, and while this is just the first name we’ve heard of getting an interview, Ham certainly checks that box,” Oram wrote. “As an assistant, he has long connected with superstars, including no less a figure than Kobe Bryant when Ham was a Lakers assistant a decade ago. That link could prove important, considering it is Bryant’s former agent making the hire and he knows the influence Bryant’s memory has on the franchise.”

Nehm added: “Ham has a previous connection with the Lakers organization, but his resume speaks for itself. Like the Raptors’ Nick Nurse, Ham got his start coaching in the G-League, first as an assistant for two seasons and then as general manager/coach of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in 2010-11. After that, he joined Mike Brown’s staff in Los Angeles for two seasons before joining Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Atlanta. Ham has now been with Budenholzer for nine seasons and been Budenholzer’s lead assistant in Milwaukee as the team transformed into one of the NBA’s best teams.”

Ham had a chance to join the Wizards as their coach last offseason, but they went with Wes Unseld Jr.