Four Los Angeles Lakers head coaches are vying to take Darvin Ham’s job.
The Denver Nuggets have once again eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers from the playoffs, this time in the opening round. Darvin Ham weathered rumblings during the regular season, but following his prolonged struggles, it’s time to assess Lakers coaching prospects to take his job.
For the majority of the year, Ham faced intense scrutiny as the NBA’s head coach, having to first quell suspicions and earn the organization’s trust. Regretfully, Ham was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and, according to a recent The Athletic survey, players ranked him as the coach they would least like to play for. His tenure will probably be terminated due to subpar performance and a poor reputation.
The future of LeBron James is an intriguing aspect of a Lakers coaching search. The 39-year-old is still playing at an All-Star caliber even though he is no longer the NBA’s finest player. In the playoffs, he has continued to dominate, putting up impressive statistics in the series versus Denver. He might, however, choose to not participate in the contract’s last year. He would probably make a choice based on the Lakers’ offseason coaching search.
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But assistant coach Phil Handy is being considered as one of our Lakers coaching options for reasons other than James. Earlier in the season, the locker room wanted Handy to take over as head coach in favor of Ham, as Hoops Wire has previously reported. Ownership was opposed to the move at the time, but after losing to Denver in the first round of the playoffs, things may change.
LeBron has a bond with Los Angeles that dates back to their shared title with the Cleveland Cavaliers, if that is the team’s determination to keep him. Handy, who joined the Lakers in 2019 as an assistant, had previously worked for the team from 2011 to 2013. It is only a matter of whether Los Angeles would be willing to take a chance on a first-year head coach, since the 52-year-old has more than earned the chance to lead the team and the support of the locker room.
Terry Stotts, a former head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers
Following his release by the Portland Trail Blazers following their 2021 NBA Playoffs first-round elimination, Terry Stotts returned to the bench in 2024. But Stotts’ tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks was brief as he left after an altercation with Adrian Griffin. Los Angeles could present him with a fresh chance.
Terry Stotts’s coaching record was 23–44 in the NBA Playoffs and 513–486 during the regular season.
In 2022, Stotts was considered by the Lakers during their coaching search, although that was only to support Frank Vogel. He declined, hoping that a return to Milwaukee would provide him the opportunity to resurrect his coaching career. Stotts didn’t seem to be the issue, given how Griffin’s time in Milwaukee transpired.
