Report: Darvin Ham has spoken with big Lakers rival about possible job

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

Darvin Ham may be going for a revenge job.

Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported Thursday that the fired ex-Los Angeles Lakers head coach Ham had some conversations in recent weeks about a potential assistant coaching job with the Golden State Warriors. Slater does add that a Warriors-Ham hiring is not expected to ultimately materialize but notes that the team would like to add a big-name assistant who is either a former head coach or a former player.

Ham, 50, was just fired by the Lakers earlier this month after two seasons in charge. He produced a record of 90-74 (.549) with two playoff berths and a Western Conference Finals appearance over that span. But Ham displayed clear deficiencies at in-game management and also enacted some strategies that were reportedly unpopular with the Lakers’ stars.

A move to the Warriors for Ham would be a stunner since they are an enormous in-state rival of the Lakers in the Pacific Division (and even faced the Lakers in a 2022 second-round playoff series). While that seems unlikely for Ham at this point, it would not be a stretch for the seasoned former NBA assistant (who won an NBA title on staff for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021) to land an assistant job with some NBA team. A few weeks ago, Ham was also linked to a potential role with an Eastern Conference team.