On May 3, Darvin Ham became the third Lakers head coach to be dismissed since LeBron James joined the storied franchise in 2018, following the previous firings of Frank Vogel in 2022 and Luke Walton in 2019.
While reacting to the news, veteran analyst Michael Wilbon called out the Lakers for firing Ham, who led the team to the Western Conference Finals in his first year as their head coach in 2022-23.
“You know what? I’m angry. I’ve known Darvin Ham for a long time,” Wilbon said on the May 3 episode of “Pardon The Interruption” on ESPN. “He’s a great guy and he’s a pretty damn good coach. Because he took a team that had done nothing the year before and missed the playoffs, and then last year they got to the conference finals with him and everybody had praise for him — including LeBron and Anthony Davis.”
“And now, all of a sudden, they — and I’m talking specifically to the two of them — blame him. Their public comments are inadequate.”
Wilbon then urged James to take accountability for Ham’s dismissal, especially if he wished to anoint himself the G.O.A.T. of pro basketball.
“If you [LeBron] want to be the GOAT, you want to tell everybody you’re the greatest player of all time… then take accountability like one. Do that!”
Does LeBron James Deserve Blame?
Wilbon then pointed to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan taking accountability after their respective teams suffered disappointing playoff exits, urging James to exhibit a similar demeanor rather than playing the blame game.
“If you’re the GOAT, you do that [take accountability],” Wilbon told James. “You don’t blame this cryptically or backhandedly on Darvin Ham. I don’t want to hear from anybody in a Laker uniform that the primary problem was Darvin Ham. Yes, LeBron and Anthony Davis were great in that series, but they weren’t good enough against Denver, so take that on. GOAT carries responsibility. I don’t see it.”
With Ham out of the door, James will soon be playing for his 11th head coach — provided he remains a Laker beyond the 2024 free agency period. Like Wilbon, ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith also believes James must assume culpability for getting several coaches fired.
“There’s no way Darvin Ham is gone if Anthony Davis and LeBron James want him to say,” Smith said on the May 6 episode of “First Take” on ESPN. “Anthony Davis speaking out against him and LeBron James not speaking up for him… Excuse me, all of those things come along with critiquing one’s GOAT status as well, because the acrimony, friction, divide, fragmentation — all of those things play a role in contributing to one’s greatness or lack thereof. Maybe that’s the reason LeBron has four rings instead of six.”
Who Will Succeed Ham?
The Lakers will reportedly soon begin the the process of conducting an extensive search to appoint their next head coach, with names such as Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick, Terry Stotts, Ty Lue and Jason Kidd doing the rounds.
At least two of those names — the Clippers’ Lue of the Mavericks’ Kidd — have already been ruled out of contention. Kidd signed a new long-term contract with Dallas on May 6 and Lue is expected to do the same with the Clippers.
The unavailability of Lue and Kidd could force the Lakers to gamble with a first-time coach such as Redick, or even former Laker Rajon Rondo.
Budenholzer, a former two-time Coach of the Year, is the odds-on favorite to be named the next Lakers coach as of May 6.
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