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Darvin Hamm’s tenure as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers only lasted two seasons.
The team announced in a statement that Los Angeles fired Hamm on Friday:
Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers
The Lakers part ways with coach Darvin Hamm pic.twitter.com/or3Bx2mZ5w
The Lakers also fired the entire assistant coaching staff, according to the British “Independent” website Dan and wiki Subordinate Los Angeles Times. Phil Handy, who coached under Hamm and Frank Vogel in Los Angeles, was among the assistants fired, according to ESPN Dave McMenamin.
Shams Al Sharaniya The Athletic and Stadium reported that the Lakers will conduct an “extensive” search for a new head coach and that Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and possibly Ty Lue will be candidates.
This is not a surprise considering the hype surrounding the coach after the Lakers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets in five games.
Sharania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick The Athletic reported on the situation after the loss and noted that it was “extremely unlikely” that Hamm would return after the “unpleasant” post-season defeat.
While his “erratic rotations, game plans and lack of adjustments” were criticized, the report also noted that he “created discontent within the locker room”, which became “tangible” throughout the organization.
Expectations were high entering the season, but the purple and gold didn’t get off to a perfect start long before the postseason. Sharanya and Buha The Athletic reported in January that the 3-9 stretch was “increasing concerns about the direction of the season from both inside and outside the organization.”
The two reported that there is a “profound disconnect” between Hamm and the Lakers’ locker room, which “raises questions about the standing of the head coach” due to the “disintegration” that “argued from the recent heavy rotation and starting lineup adjustments from Hamm, leading to a volatile rhythm for many of players across the roster.”
The general lack of continuity in Los Angeles was seen as a contributing factor to the overall inconsistency as Hamm tried to push the right buttons for a potential championship contender.
The noise didn’t get any quieter when the Lakers fell to 24-25 with a late loss to the Atlanta Hawks and LeBron James sent out a mysterious tweet:
Hamm – who was a player from 1996-97 through 2004-05 with the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons – had extensive experience as an assistant with the Lakers, Hawks and Bucks before becoming a player. Head coach in Los Angeles starting in the 2022-23 season.
His team went 43-39 and earned the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference during his inconsistent first season. The Lakers snuck past the Minnesota Timberwolves in the championship game and then defeated the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Despite being swept by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, their overall postseason performance overshadowed an up-and-down regular season in which Los Angeles looked like anything but one of the top two teams in the West.
Expectations were probably higher than they should have been going into the 2023-24 season because of that playoff run. After all, the Lakers were bringing back James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reeves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura, among others, and were viewed as championship contenders.
However they settled back into tournament play at 47-35 and were unable to put together a deep postseason run this time.
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