Since winning their 17th title two seasons back, the Los Angeles Lakers have gone 75-79 in each of the last two regular seasons, including a dismal 33-49 mark a season ago, not even making the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. So, they decided to cut the cord with their sideline leader that led them to said title back in NBA’s restart in Orlando, FL in 2020. On Monday, they had the introductory presser of for their new head coach, a former Lakers assistant from nearly a decade ago who they hope his no-nonsense, straight forward approach will get them back to the top of the NBA mountain.
On Monday, Darvin Ham, who played eight
seasons in the NBA in the late 1990s and early 2000s and was an assistant coach
with the Lakers from 2011-13 was introduced as the 28th head coach
in Lakers history on a four-year deal.
The news of Lakers new hire was first
reported on May 27 by ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Ham had spent the last nine seasons as an
assistant coach on Mike Budenholzer’s staff first with the Atlanta Hawks
(2013-18) and the Milwaukee Bucks (2018-22), including on their title team in
2020-21.
The only time Ham chocked up during his
presser on Monday when he expressed his gratitude for the mentorship and
friendship of his former boss in Coach Budenholzer saying with a laugh, “At
least you dropped me off where you picked me up at.”
While the 48-year-old Ham, who went
undrafted out of Texas Tech, played nine seasons (1996-2005) in the NBA with
the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks,
Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons, winning a title with the Pistons in 2004
understands the huge task in front of him returning a veteran-laden squad,
where the pieces did not fit a season ago back to title contention, it hales in
comparison to how the Saginaw, MI native grew up as he expressed in his
introductory presser at the start of this week.
“I grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. I was
shot in the face by accident, April, 5, 1988,” Ham said when asked by Spectrum
Sportsnet’s Mike Trudell about feeling the pressure of being the head coach of
the most recognized organization in professional sports.
“You go through something like that, it’s
going to do one of two things: It’s going to make you fearful or fearless. It
made me fearless. I don’t feel no pressure. It’s basketball.”
That might be true in theory that Ham is
just a basketball coach. The reality, he is the head coach of a basketball team
that after winning their aforementioned 17th title in 2019-20, they
were eliminated in the First-Round of the 2021 Playoffs in six games by the
eventual Finals runner-up and Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns. Last
season, they did not even make the Play-In Tournament, let alone missing the playoffs
for the 12th time in their storied history, which included the
postseason hoops for the 7th time in the last nine seasons.
While the roster that Ham inherits is an
odd mix, it has three future Hall of Famers who when they are right is one of
the best duos in “The Association.”
Ham will have 18-time All-Star, four-time
Kia MVP and two-time Finals MVP and four-time NBA champion LeBron James, though
he is 37-years-old and has dealt with major injuries in two of his first three
seasons dawning the “Purple and Gold.”
When the Lakers last week announced that
they were hiring Ham as their new head coach on May 27, James tweeted about his
third head coach in the last five years, “So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congrats and
welcome Coach DHam!!”
In speaking with ESPN’s Malika Andrews on
Monday’s edition of “NBA Today,” Ham said of James who he played against at the
start of his career in his first stint with the Cavaliers when Ham was with the
Pistons that he earned a high-level of admiration and respect for what he has
done on the hardwood in his career but the impact he has had off the floor with
how he has spoken out about the injustices that our nation has faced in recent
years to building his “I, Promise” school in his hometown of Akron, OH where
kids that were in his same shoes once can earn their education and build a
better life for themselves and their families.
“His communication with me has been great,
phenomenal,” Ham said to Andrews about the dialogue he and James have had so
far. “And to see him so excited, it really sent chills through me, man. It was
a great, great moment.”
“Just talking to him, exchanging ideas,
and sent him what, you know little remnants of what our system is going to look
like going forward this season, it’s been awesome.”
Ham also said that when he and James first
talk was full of excitement. That James energy in their first conversation over
the phone was described as “unbelievable.” The two Ham said laughed and as well
as have serious conversation of what needs to happen to turn the Lakers back
into a title contender.
The other thing that Ham mentioned to
Andrews is that both of them being from the Midwest in as mentioned Akron, OH
for James and Ham from Saginaw, MI that bonds the two and that James is someone
who is about the success of the team.
“We have that bond. That common Midwest
kid bond and the type of player he [James] is, he wants to uplift everyone
around him,” Ham said of James. “It’s not a me, me, me thing with him. It’s us.
It’s we. It’s ours, and we have to go about our business in that manner. And
again, re-establish that championship standard.”
In re-establishing that title or bust standard, Ham said he wants to help James maintain the high-level he displayed a season ago at this stage of his career, adding that he and the coaching staff he assembles will do “everything” in their power for him, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook to all be “healthy” and be “defensive minded” as well as “rest that championship defensive standard.”
One of the best big-men in the business
but oft-injured perennial All-Star Anthony Davis. And the polarizing but
dynamic all-around guard Russell Westbrook, who appears to not be going
anywhere, especially with a $47.1 million player option on the table that he
has to make a decision on by the start of July.
To put what the Lakers to do over this
summer of 2022 into clearer context, they will have no draft picks in the
upcoming draft later this month because they traded away those assets when the
acquired Davis three off-seasons back. The next available First-Round pick they
would be able to offer in any trade is not until 2027.
They currently have $150.8 million of
their salary for 2022-23 committed to James, Davis, Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn,
Stanley Johnson, Austin Reaves, and Wenyen Gabriel.
If Westbrook and Nunn opted into their
respective $47.1 and $5.3 million deals this offseason, the Lakers would have
$145 million owed to five players.
What lies instore for Ham in his first
opportunity as a head coach is daunting for anyone, let alone a neophyte to a
franchise that has a spotlight on it at all times, in good times as well as bad
times.
Ham is no ordinary first-time head coach.
His ability to connect and communicate with the players in his career as an
assistant coach with first the Lakers, Hawks and the past four seasons with the
Bucks were the two key assets, which won Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka and
the team’s front office brass over as their choice to replace Frank Vogel, who
the Lakers axed in April.
Ham in his introductory press put the
focus on how much of an honor it is to coach a roster that could consist of
half a dozen of the best players to play on the hardwood in this era that will
be in the Hall of Fame once their respective careers are over from the
aforementioned James, Davis, and Westbrook, and free agents this summer in
Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, even though it seems Anthony and Howard are
on the back nine of their respective careers.
“I think (the) sky’s the limit,” Ham said.
“We’re not putting a ceiling on our situation. We’ll go as far as our daily
preparation takes us… and the things we’re going to do in that daily process
will lead us to the type of success that this franchise and city has been
accustomed to."
James, whose team missed the playoffs only
the fourth time in his career played at an extremely high level with averages
of 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.6 steals on 50.5 percent from
the field in 38.2 minutes per contest in 2021-22.
While he put up averages of 23.2 points,
9.9 boards, and 2.3 blocks on 52.4 percent shooting, Davis for a second
straight season battled injuries, which consisted of a medial collateral
ligament (MCL) sprain in his left another injury riddled season where a
sprained foot and a right ankle injury that cost him 17 and 18 games
respectably in 2021-22. He missed a total of 42 games last season.
For James and Davis, it comes down to them
staying healthy and that will go a long way in helping Coach Ham start off his
Lakers head coaching career in a much better place.
Ham has seen up close the value of when
your star player is available consistently every night with reigning 2021
Finals MVP and two-time Kia MVP in perennial All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
From having coached Antetokounmpo these
past four seasons with the Bucks that he can apply to the Lakers what he told
Andrews the “care factor” of not just Antetokounmpo but the training staff and
the performance team, and the meticulous details that part of the team went
about making sure the Bucks’ best player was at tip top condition to go out
there and play at his highest level on both ends of the floor.
“You have to be on the same page with
everybody,” Ham said about what he learned in his time specifically with the
Bucks. “We all have to collaborate. We can’t look at this being your
department. This is my department…No. We all have to come together. We all have
to figure out a plan to move forward and protect our players health, and to
make sure they’re performing at a high level by being smart and efficient with
how we use them and utilize them in workouts on the floor; in shootarounds;
practices; and what have you.”
When the Lakers acquired Westbrook from
the Washington Wizards a season ago, there was a great deal of excitement and
anticipation of he, James, and Davis leading the Lakers to title No. 18.
That never materialized as the trio was a
mismatch right from the jump.
For starters, because of injuries to James
and Davis, the trio of the aforementioned two and Westbrook played only 21
games together, with the Lakers compiling only a 11-10 mark with all three in
the lineup. The Lakers only went 20-33 when only two of the three were in the
lineup last season.
For most players who average 18.5 points,
7.1 assists and 7.4 rebounds on 44 percent shooting like Westbrook did last
season, it would be considered a great year. For Westbrook though, he in four
of the previous five seasons averaged a triple-double in playing for the
Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards in 2020-21.
Westbrook, the 2017 Kia MVP struggled
mightily a season ago with turnovers, his mid-range and three-point shot and
free throws and playing inconsistent at the defensive end.
Most Missed Layups/Dunks In 2021-22 NBA
Season: According To Second Spectrum
Russell Westbrook (LAL) 280
RJ Barrett (NYK) 271
Franz Wagner (ORL) 254
Jayson Tatum (BOS) 217
While there are those in Lakers’ nation
that would love to see Westbrook, a native of Los Angeles, CA be dealt to
another team, it is more likely that he will opt into the final year of his
contract and return to the Lakers this upcoming season.
Westbrook along with Johnson, Reaves, and
Gabriel were the four current Lakers that attended Ham’s introductory presser,
which was another sign that Westbrook will be here at least for now.
In speaking with Wojnarowski on Wednesday,
Westbrook said that he expressed “tremendous enthusiasm” for the hire of Ham
and has started connecting with him on a “human level.”
Wojnarowski said of that conversation on
Wednesday night’s addition of “NBA Countdown” on ABC that Westbrook “admires”
Ham’s path to becoming a head coach and identified with his new head coach’s
no-nonsense approach and success is all based on results, mainly wins and
losses.
One thing specifically that Westbrook
loved hearing from his new head coach so far that Ham will not only hold him
accountable for his play or lack thereof at times last season on the floor,
that he would hold the entire team accountable from the stars to the ancillary
players.
Ham when asked if Westbrook is in his
plans for this upcoming season said, “Absolutely.”
“Don’t get it messed up: Russell is one of
the best players our league has ever seen, and there’s still a ton left in that
tank. I don’t know why people tend to try to write him off. I’m going to
approach him like every player I’ve ever encountered.
There are two things specifically that
Russell Westbrook has brought to the court every night of his NBA career with
the Thunder, Rockets, Wizards and Lakers. Effort and energy. From the opening
tip to the final buzzer, Westbrook has brought it and that is how he averaged a
triple-double as mentioned four times in a recent five-year stretch.
Unfortunately, the three biggest
weaknesses in the future Hall of Famers game that were glaring a season ago
where his aforementioned jump shot; his foul shooting and that he turned the
ball over a great deal.
In his previous stops, Westbrook has
displayed an ability to will his team to victory without a jumper. Without the
ability to consistently hit 70-plus percent at the charity stripe.
However, in this era of pace and space
where the best teams in the NBA get a majority if not all of their offensive
production from threes, layups and free throws, Westbrook struggled in these
areas a season ago.
While Westbrook’s struggles are not the
ultimate reason that the Lakers struggled to consistently win a season ago, it
did play a major role and at least for right now, it looks like there is a
great possibility of their being a re-run of those same struggles unless
Westbrook is willing to put in the work on his jump shot, his foul shooting and
playing off the basketball if this partnership between him James and Davis will
amount to any kind of regular-season and postseason success.
For Ham though, he said to Andrews that
wants Westbrook to go back to being a “pit-bull” at the defensive end and let
everything else in terms of his offense come in the flow of the game.
Ham added that he and his coaching staff
are going to implement different running habits that he feels will benefit
Westbrook that will allow him to attack opposing defenses at the offensive end.
“I want him to set a tone defensively for
our team,” Ham said to Andrews on what he wants to see from Westbrook. “Just
get back to guarding, guarding, guarding.”
The biggest word that came out the most in
those early discussions that Ham said he had with Westbrook was “sacrifice.”
“We’re going to sacrifice whatever we’ve
got to do, and it’s not just Russ. It’s going to be sacrifices that LeBron has
to make, that AD has to make, on down the line through the rest of the roster.”
“We have to start on the defensive end.
I’m expecting him [Westbrook] to be the same tenacious, high-energy player that
he’s been his entire career. A lot of it now may happen without the ball in his
hand. Most of it may happen on the defensive end, but we have to sacrifice.
There’s no achieving anything without all parties sharing the load, sacrificing,
and depending on one another.”
If there is anyone that understands the
word sacrifice for the betterment of the team’s success is Ham, whose playing
time was limited for any of the six teams he played on his career after going
undrafted in 1996 out of Texas A&M, when he did get on the floor, he
dedicated himself to playing a cerebral and complimentary role. Whatever he was
asked to do, he did exceptionally well.
He took that knowledge he gained as a
player and used it to excel as an assistant coach first with the Lakers as
their player development coach a decade-plus ago before he joined Coach
Budenholzer staff first with the Hawks and then with the Bucks.
Even more significantly for Ham though in
this being this first head coaching opportunity in the NBA, he is now the 15th
head coach out of now 29 filled spots in the NBA that is Africa American.
To put that into context, when Ham began
his NBA career as a player in 1996 with the Nuggets, there were only six
African American head coaches in “The Association,” which has fluctuated since.
Ham said to Andrews that his hiring as the
15th African American head coach in the league this shift in
minority head coaches being hired represents “change.”
He added, “I think it represents equal
opportunity, even though someone may not look like you. May have come from a
different background, that does not mean they’re not qualified.”
As important as Coach Budenholzer was in
his maturation into being a solid assistant coach and hopefully a great head
coach with the Lakers, Ham mentioned how big of an influence former long-time
head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was on him when he began his playing career in
the NBA with the Nuggets back in 1996, who he called a “legendary African
American head coach” who he said to this day text messages and calls to this
day.
“If it weren’t for him, I would not have
had the opportunity to catch hold in the NBA,” Ham said of Coach Bickerstaff’s
influence on him. “He trusted me. He showed me love as an undrafted rookie free
agent straight out of Texas Tech. Just being around him to see the way he
carried himself. He to me is a template that all of us African American head
coaches look to and look at and can call to this day.”
“He’s a template for all of us because he
was such a great trail blazer in that role.”
Since winning their 17th NBA
title in franchise history, the Los Angeles Lakers have been a major
disappointment over the last two seasons going an abysmal 75-79 losing in the
opening-round of the 2021 Playoffs in six games to the Phoenix Suns and not
even making the Play-In Tournament this past season. They axed head coach Frank
Vogel and brought in Darvin Ham to climb back up the NBA championship mountain.
With a healthy LeBron James, Anthony
Davis, and Russell Westbrook, that dream could become a reality. A lot of buy
in though, especially at the defensive end will have to take place over this
off-season and to being training camp in the fall for that to become a reality.
They have a new leader in Darvin Ham, who
was a solid lieutenant to Mike Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks and then the
Milwaukee Bucks from 2013-2022.
While he does not have a set philosophy on
how he wants the Lakers to play on both ends, he does have a clear mantra what
he wants to see from the Lakers under his watch on the sidelines, and that is
“competitiveness, togetherness, and accountability.”
“That’s going to be our mantra,”
“Competitiveness, togetherness, and accountability. That toughness everybody’s
been throwing around attached to my name, that’s just being competitive.”
“Being competitive, you have to be tough
minded. You have to be tough physically. Togetherness, it’s a team sport. We
can’t have each other being out on an island, you know. A spread hand is weaker
than a closed fist. But when your fist is closed that means those five digits
are together.”
“And accountability. When we set this
standard, we watch film, I have to be able to get on LeBron. Get on Russ. Get
on A.D. Just like when I’m ready to get on Austin Reaves and Stanley Johnson’s
and the like.”
“It’s that accountability top to bottom.
Even as coaches. Holding myself accountable. If it’s ATO [After Timeout] or go
to the wrong ATO, whatever the case may be.”
“But that competitiveness, that
togetherness, and that accountability, I think you look at any championship
organization, irregardless of the sport, you’re going to find those three
ingredients.”
No comments:
Post a Comment