Report: Darvin Ham alienating Lakers locker room with lineup changes

Nov 30, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham at a press conference during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers’ season appears to be at risk of derailing already, with mounting criticism of head coach Darvin Ham.

Ham is struggling to keep a firm grip on the Laker locker room due to constant changes to the starting lineup and rotation, according to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Ham has used ten starting lineups on the season and three in the last three games, causing a “disjointedness” between the coach and team as the Lakers try to turn their season around.

Ham’s decisions are blamed for players struggling to find a rhythm, and the situation is bad enough that questions have been raised about the coach’s standing. Some of the lineups, particularly the decision to bench D’Angelo Russell and play without a secondary ballhandler, have been scrutinized internally.

The Lakers have lost nine of their last 12 games since winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament, and have fallen to tenth in the Western Conference as a result. This report may well serve as a warning for Ham, whose status does not appear to be under immediate threat. Still, he sounds like he is at risk of significantly alienating the locker room.

The team has admittedly had some bad luck during their losing stretch, and injuries have also been an issue. Ultimately, however, the team’s top players are healthy and things still aren’t clicking. When that is the case, scrutiny is inevitably going to fall on the head coach.