Five months after the Los Angeles Lakers fired Darvin Ham, the current Bucks assistant has made his first comments on the matter in an interview with ESPN. The quotes came Thursday after LA’s 107-102 comeback win over Milwaukee, a clash between familiar faces on both sidelines.
Darvin Ham Breaks Silence on Lakers Tenure
Ham’s Comments
Ham reflected on a tumultuous tenure with the purple and gold. While he finished with a 90-74 record across two seasons, each campaign could not have gone any different—from a Western Conference Finals berth in 2023 to a first-round exit in 2024. Ham told ESPN staff writer Dave McMenamin:
“The state of the team when they hired me, up until the day they fired me, I like to think it improved. And that’s all I care about. I poured myself, my heart and soul, into that team trying to improve it from where it was — 33-49. And to get to the Western Conference finals in one year, have guys benefit from it financially. To have that excitement going into that next year, get derailed by injuries, still manage to win the in-season tournament and get to the playoffs, I thank God every day.
“Again, I’m completely grateful. I wish that franchise nothing but the best. I’m not mean or angry or bitter about anything. Some people have certain opinions and those are opinions, but if you really look at the facts, there’s not much for me personally I have to say. So, that’s it.”
A month after his firing, Ham returned to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he served as an assistant from 2018-22 before joining the Lakers. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers stood up for the Lakers’ former leader when discussing Ham’s second stint in Milwaukee.
“It’s been great. First of all, he’s been here even longer than me. He knows things that I didn’t know. He has relationships with the players. Another guy that [I] can trust. Trust is so important for players. And more importantly, he deserves it. I’m not going to get into the whole thing that happened there, but he took a team to a Western Finals, and then the following year, he won the in-season tournament, which they say we should have a lot of value on, and then they release him. It literally makes no sense, but it happens. It happens to all of us. It’s part of what we do. But Darvin Ham’s a coach, he should be on the sidelines, and I wanted him next to me.”
Lakers Players Tell a Different Story
Despite Ham’s successes in his first head coaching gig, many point to glaring failures that emerged over the course of his time in LA, from mismatched rotations and a lack of execution to eventually losing the locker room by the start of the new year. It’s not just fans who noticed it, either, as some players appeared to take shots at their former coach during media day.
D'Angelo Russell said the Lakers have been kinda "winging it" since his return to the organization and he mentioned more structure being around this summer.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) September 30, 2024
Cam Reddish on what the summer has been like with JJ Redick
"I'm not one to compare but it's been really detail-oriented so far."
— Jacob Rude (@JacobRude) September 30, 2024
And in Netflix’s new NBA-centered series, “Starting 5,” LeBron James was heard voicing his frustration at a season-opening minutes restriction.
While disorganization was a trend that the Lakers dealt with over time, the energy is moving in the right direction in a new and exciting era.
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Under head coach JJ Redick—another rookie in the role—the tides around the Lakers have shifted drastically. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha highlighted the team’s positive vibes during training camp:
“This is my fifth season covering the Lakers and my fifth training camp, and I cannot remember the Lakers having this kind of positive, joyous, and upbeat energy to this extent in any of the previous four training camps. That’s not hyperbole—it’s my honest opinion and assessment of what I’m witnessing.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania detailed the team’s first few days under Redick’s watch—a stark contrast from Ham:
“The early days are going good, because JJ Redick is keeping it true to exactly how he is and who he is as a person, and the three words that I hear from people around the Lakers are details, accountability, and structure. That’s something the Lakers felt like they were missing a season ago under Darvin Ham. But when you think about the play-calling, the out-of-bounds plays, and everything that JJ Redick has brought as head coach—when I talk to scouts around the league, people around the Lakers, that is what they praise: his out-of-bounds plays [and] his uniqueness to how he game-manages these Lakers.”
Charania added that Redick has received buy-in from Lakers players, including from James and Anthony Davis, which he describes as “the most important thing” heading into Redick’s first year of coaching.
All of Redick’s words—along with his X’s and O’s—have become a breath of fresh air for the Lakers and their fans. Since stepping into the Lakers’ practice facility to be introduced as their new coach, Redick has made an excellent first impression and said all the right things. His detail-oriented structure has been clear from the moment players took the court, as areas such as three-point shooting and rebounding have become emphasized in preseason play.
Redick’s trust with the Lakers will be critical in the months ahead, and such great team chemistry—combined with the right results—will be essential towards a successful outcome at season’s end.
