LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Darwin Hamm on Friday after just two seasons in charge.
The Lakers announced on social media that they were firing Hamm four days after the season ended Lost to Denver in first round playoff. In five games.
Ham, in his first season as an NBA head coach, had led Los Angeles to the Western Conference Finals less than a year earlier. He replaced Frank Vogel, who was fired by the Lakers in 2020, just 18 months after winning the franchise’s 17th championship.
Ham has had two winning seasons and made two playoff appearances, but that’s not enough for the championship-focused Lakers. There is little time left to take advantage of the concurrent presence of Anthony Davis and the 39-year-old LeBron James — who has not yet decided whether to return for his 22nd NBA season — rather than blame the Lakers general manager. Resetting their coaching staff once again. To Rob Pelinka for his roster construction.
“We greatly appreciate Darwin’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and acknowledge the many accomplishments he has made over the past two seasons, including a remarkable performance in the Western Conference Finals last year,” Pelinka said in a statement. “We all want to thank Darwin for his dedication and positivity. Although this decision was difficult to make, it is the best course of action after a full review of the season. The organization will remain steadfast in its commitment to providing championship-caliber basketball to Lakers fans around the world.
Hamm presided over a disappointing year for the Lakers, who went 47–35 in the regular season and won the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament. Lakers again Defeated New Orleans in play-in game to clinch the seventh seed in the highly competitive Western Conference – but that meant they had to face Denver, who had knocked them out of the playoffs the previous season.
Los Angeles led the defending champion Nuggets for a long stretch of their first-round series, but Nikola Jokic and his teammates ultimately reached the second round. a series of comeback wins,
“It’s been a rough two years sitting in this seat,” Hamm said after the game. “A lot of good things happened, but ultimately, you want to win that final prize.”
The Lakers’ failure was tragic because James and Davis were largely healthy all year, with both superstars playing more games than they had in an NBA season since 2017-18 — 76 for Davis and 71 for James, according to the NBA. Leading scorer in U.S. history. D’Angelo Russell also had a strong regular season, setting a franchise record for 3-pointers.
That health and success translated into only a four-win improvement in the standings compared to the previous season, and Hamm received much criticism from fans and observers for his game management, slow tactical adjustments, and an unwillingness to change his player rotation and starting lineup. Found more blame. Even when things weren’t working out.
The Lakers fell into a pit when they couldn’t escape Gone 3-10 during holiday period Immediately following the conclusion of in-season tournaments. Hamm was widely criticized for his lineup and rotation during that poor run – among other decisions, he curiously ruled out Russell and Austin Reaves while giving extensive playing time to Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish.
That slump ultimately prevented the Lakers from clinching a top-6 seed in the West, even though they finished the regular season with an impressive 28–14 record.
The players publicly supported Hamm, but signs of frustration were evident. After the Lakers took a 20-point lead Lost to Denver in Game 2 Last month, Davis said the Lakers had “stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor,” a comment widely interpreted as a shot at Hamm’s coaching ability. .
The Lakers went just 43–39 in their first season under Ham in 2022–23, but they took advantage of more favorable playoff matchups. After defeating Minnesota in the play-in game, they won playoff series against Memphis and Golden State to reach the conference finals, where they were swept by denver,
James, Davis and the Lakers have failed to win the playoff round in three of their four seasons since winning the 2020 championship in the Florida bubble.
Hamm had two years left on his contract with the Lakers, who would be hiring their fourth head coach since James arrived in 2018. The new coach will be the Lakers’ eighth coach in 14 seasons since the departure of Hall of Famer Phil Jackson in 2011.
Hamm had an eight-year playing career in the NBA as an athletic forward, winning a championship with Detroit in 2004. He got his first NBA assistant coaching job with the Lakers in 2011, and was an assistant to Mike Budenholzer for nine years in Atlanta and Milwaukee. season – winning a second championship ring with the Bucks in 2021 – before returning to the Lakers as their head coach.
James has a $51.4 million player option for next season, and his decision hinges on every offseason move the Lakers make, who internally expect him to return.
Pelinka will then have to determine whether he can make the long-awaited move for a third superstar via trades, or whether he believes Rui Hachimura and other role players’ claims that the Lakers need a player with more continuity. Can become a contender.
Russell has an $18.7 million player option after the sharpshooting guard excelled in the regular season and flopped in the playoffs, infamously in the Lakers’ Game 3 loss to Denver. After Los Angeles was eliminated from the playoffs on Monday, the point guard said he has “a little bit of an advantage.” I will try to take advantage of it.”
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