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Lakers officially announce hiring of Darvin Ham

hoopshype
·5 min read
2

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed Darvin Ham to a multi-year contract as head coach, it was announced today by Vice President, Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released. “When someone begins his NBA coaching career at the G League level and goes all the way through playing an integral role on the front bench of an NBA Championship team, it really speaks to a certain strength of character. Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do,” said Pelinka. “When you add that to Darvin’s sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history. We could not be more honored and proud to name Darvin Ham as our new head coach.”
Source: NBA.com

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Lakers finally make the hiring of Darvin Ham official: pic.twitter.com/jr3pgeeyC9 – 12:51 PM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
🎧 New episode of The Forum Club
🎙Everything you need to know about Darvin Ham w/ Bucks beat writer @Eric Nehm
—What are Ham’s strengths?
— Can he maximize Russ?
— What style/systems will he implement?
🟢 Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/744DxL…
🍎 Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… – 12:37 PM

Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Lakers make official hiring of Darvin Ham. pic.twitter.com/ZXNHWr9QWq – 12:36 PM

Trey Kerby @treykerby
Heard the Lakers hired Darvin Ham pic.twitter.com/cdWbD88hLz – 12:20 PM

Mike Bresnahan @Mike_Bresnahan
Lakers officially announce the hiring of Darvin Ham, 48, as their 28th head coach. His introductory press conference will be next week. – 12:17 PM

Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
Darvin Ham is the 28th head coach in the Lakers history. He’s the guy who gonna lead the team, replacing Frank Vogel. His mission is difficult but he has Rob Pelinka’s and whole Lakers front office confidence, plus LeBron’s. Good first sign. #LakeShow – 12:06 PM

Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
It’s official. Darvin Ham is the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers! #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/BxOWAoA6sn – 12:02 PM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
The Lakers have officially hired Darvin Ham as their head coach. – 12:01 PM

Andrew Greif @AndrewGreif
Draymond told @Dan Woike what Darvin Ham brings to the Lakers:
“It’ll be a different toughness that they haven’t seen. And he’s going to command and require a different respect level that they haven’t really have had.”
latimes.com/sports/lakers/… – 1:13 PM

Brad Turner @BA_Turner
More great work from ⁦@Dan Woike⁩ in ⁦⁦@latimessports⁩ on: At the NBA Finals, the Lakers are viewed as winners after landing coach Darvin Ham latimes.com/sports/lakers/… – 9:17 AM

John Karalis @John_Karalis
Al Horford on his former assistant coach Darvin Ham getting the Lakers job: “Darvin is about as good a guy as you’re going to see, a big competitor. Extreme competitor. The Lakers are really lucky to have a guy like him. He’s the kind of guy that you want.” – 6:09 PM

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Celtics forward Al Horford on Lakers coach Darvin Ham after working with him when Ham was an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks pic.twitter.com/igdsYB7eSr – 5:28 PM

Eric Pincus @EricPincus
Latest @BleacherReport The Biggest Questions Facing New Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Darvin Ham bleacherreport.com/articles/10037… – 5:26 PM

Andrew Bogut @RogueBoguesPod
Basketball Pod Ep 67 – The @Los Angeles Lakers have found their new head coach, Darvin Ham. @andrewbogut and @HoopConsultants share their thoughts on him.
Listen to it here 👇
https://t.co/u0OwdyWBh0
#LetsGetRogue #RogueBogues #NBA #Lakers #Coach pic.twitter.com/295m7vJBPj – 7:00 PM

Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
For the sickos who like to watch, Tuesday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast, YouTube version. We break down the reports of Darvin Ham have actual autonomy as a head coach. What does it mean for him and the Lakers moving forward? @LockedOnNBAPods @LockedOnNetwork
youtube.com/watch?v=pulxav… – 4:23 PM

Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Tuesday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast! We discuss @Marc Stein‘s report of the Lakers giving Darvin Ham more autonomy (and less Rambis) as the Lakers coach. Has the front office learned some lessons? #FirstListen @LockedOnNetwork @LockedOnNBAPods
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rep… – 12:44 PM

More on this storyline

The most interesting thing I’ve heard while we wait for Ham’s official introduction is that, according to the latest buzz in league coaching circles, Michigan’s Juwan Howard was the Lakers’ preferred candidate among the various coaches to whom they were linked who were under contract elsewhere and thus ultimately unavailable — ahead of Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers and Utah’s Quin Snyder. -via marcstein.substack.com / June 3, 2022

The Lakers, I’m told, made such strong overtures to Howard that the implication was clear: The job was his if he wanted it. As covered here on May 2, Howard made it clear in turn throughout the Lakers’ 47-day search that — despite his long associations with both James and Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka — he had no interest in leaving behind the college game at Michigan and the opportunity to coach sons Jace and Jett next season. -via marcstein.substack.com / June 3, 2022

The news of Ham’s hiring — which still hasn’t been announced by the Lakers — has been met with endorsements from those who crossed paths with Ham during his career: former coaches, teammates and colleagues lauding the Lakers for handing things over to a first-time coach. “He’s going to be honest as a coach of the Lakers, which is what I think you need in the NBA today — somebody that’s going to be honest but know how to be honest without actually just tearing you down,” former teammate Chauncey Billups, now the coach in Portland said Saturday. “What can you say? He’s won as a player. He’s won as a coach. I mean, this dude is more than qualified for the task at hand. I’m so happy and proud of him. I spoke to him last night and he was so excited.” -via Sun Herald / May 29, 2022