Lakers somehow lose out on slam-dunk free agent to Darvin Ham

Darvin Ham is still giving Los Angeles Lakers fans nightmares even after his tenure with the team has ended.

The Lakers fired Ham after a disappointing end to the 2023-24 season and he went back to Milwaukee to serve as a top assistant on Doc Rivers' staff. Taurean Prince followed Ham from Los Angeles to Milwaukee and he won't go down as the only player the Lakers missed out on in favor of the team's former head coach.

Sharpshooter free agent Gary Trent Jr. signed a league-minimum deal with the Bucks on Tuesday to bolster the team's backcourt. Trent did not have existing ties to Ham like Prince did but he was someone who would have been perfect in the purple and gold.

Gary Trent Jr. spurning Lakers in favor of Bucks (and Darvin Ham) is disappointing

There is a very slim chance Ham had anything to do with this signing but it is still upsetting to see an enemy of the Lakers fanbase get someone who would fit so perfectly in LA. The Lakers could have added a true difference-maker to the rotation at the league minimum but alas, it was not meant to be.

Trent is a career 38.6% three-point shooter who is one of the most consistent backcourt shooters in the league. Sure, he may not play lockdown defense and his game might be rather one-dimensional but that one dimension is something Los Angeles needed.

The Lakers should know all too well by now that there is no such thing as too much three-point shooting in the NBA. All it takes is a D'Angelo Russell slump in the playoffs and suddenly the team does not have nearly enough shooting to get past the best teams in the league.

What makes this more frustrating is the fact Trent is a Klutch Sports client and has been loosely tied to the Lakers via trade rumors in the past. On paper, this was the perfect opportunity for Klutch to show its influence to get a key player into the Lakers' rotation.

But that is not what happened, which means one of two things. The Lakers are either completely ignorant to the team's roster and passed on the chance to add an impact player at the cheapest price possible. Or, Trent has seen the turnover in Los Angeles and wanted a more stable chance to win a championship in Milwaukee.

Either way, it does not look great for the Lakers. This is a team that is supposed to be a destination. Whether it be internal incompetence or an external perception that has been created, the Lakers missing out on someone like Trent is indicative of how poorly the team has been run in recent years.

And somehow, someway, Ham once again gets the last laugh on his former team.

More Lakers news and analysis: