After the Los Angeles Lakers chose to move on from Frank Vogel as their head coach, they needed a new leader on the bench. The decision they made was to hand the keys over to first-time head coach Darvin Ham, who was unfortunately unable to receive them due to his hands being in his pockets.
That will always be the lasting visual Lakers fans have of their former coach. The picture painted here is of a man who would calmly stand there and watch a 15-0 run happen against his team with no thought of calling a timeout and making adjustments.
After going back to review that film, the New Orleans Pelicans came away with one thought: this could be our cool and collected bench boss in the near future. A recent report from The Stein Line confirmed that is still very much so in play down in Louisiana.
"Joe Dumars is said to hold [Jamahl] Mosley interest and could opt to hire his own head coach after installing associate head coach James Borrego as [Willie] Green’s interim replacement. ... Darvin Ham is another likely Pelicans target if Borrego doesn’t land the full-time post."
Darvin Ham's Lakers disaster is not deterring newfound Pelicans interest
Flaming out on a stage as big as Los Angeles would be a death blow to the coaching careers of many. Ham may not fall into that category if New Orleans is willing to run the gamble that ultimately busted the Lakers.
In all fairness to Ham, the rosters he had to work with were far from perfect. On top of the imperfection, there was also a lot of turnover in a short window. Even so, there were some clear problems with him as a head coach.
One of them has already been alluded to. Making in-game adjustments never came across as a strength of Ham's coaching ability. It showed up at the most painful times for the Lakers too, mainly anytime the franchise had to face the Denver Nuggets in a playoff setting.
There was also a lack of accountability that rubbed many the wrong way. Ham would openly take pointed shots at his team and players for his shortcomings. There's no love lost for D'Angelo Russell in Laker land either, but he was a regular scapegoat for suble jabs thrown by the former coach.
Granted, Ham has spent two seasons as an assistant again in Milwaukee. Perhaps the added years of experience have helped evolve the former Lakers boss. Although, it is difficult to imagine how working with Doc Rivers would aid anyone at this stage.
If the Pelicans want to take their shot here, regardless of what they have seen, that is their impending disasterclass to sign up for.