Lakers’ HC Darvin Ham Gets Warning From NBA Exec: ‘Coach’s Nightmare’

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off of a challenging season. They made the Western Conference Finals, but couldn’t handle Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. The front office made some changes in the offseason, but head coach Darvin Ham has just received a big warning.

The Lakers kept the core intact and re-signed their top contributors. A veteran front-office exec discussed Ham’s situation and the way he is supposed to handle the depth chart.

“They’re deep,” the exec said. “They’re 12 deep. That’s great when you look at it on paper. But when happens when the ball goes up and you’re playing nine guys, and one of those guys is playing eight minutes? That gets sticky for a coach. Darvin is as good as anyone at relating to players, but a depth chart like that can be a coach’s nightmare.”

Ham will do well despite the big warning

Ham has great connection with his players and Christian Wood knows it best. He explained that the Lakers head coach understands him well.

Christian Wood statement to @andscape about signing with the Lakers. The former Mavericks forward opted not to discuss his former team. pic.twitter.com/YvV1BJvgDH

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 6, 2023

“I’ve always wanted to be a Laker. I know we can win a championship,” Wood said. “Communication with a coach is a big key. Coach Ham and I go back to our Milwaukee days, and we’ve had great conversations everyday about this opportunity. He believes in me and told me I’ll be playing a big role and knows what I can do.”

The Lakers face a big challenge this season. Will they find a way to handle this pressure?

“The teams I was an assistant for, the ones that got along best, they always had two or three veterans who could sit and not be bothered by not playing,” he said. “They’d be ready if you needed them but they’d be cool with not playing.”

The Lakers have LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the top. What about the rest? Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura earned a big contract and will probably get a bigger role this season. Enter newly added players who also hope to get a bigger role.