Lakers Rumors: Darvin Ham's Status in Question over Deepening Locker Room Disconnect

Amid the Los Angeles Lakers' recent struggles, head coach Darvin Ham's future with the organization is reportedly in question.

According to Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, six sources with knowledge of the situation said there is a "deepening disconnect" between Ham and the Lakers players.

Charania and Buha added that there is "disjointedness" between Ham and the locker room due to his decision to make "extreme rotation and starting lineup adjustments," which has made it difficult for players to find a rhythm.

The Lakers, who are in 10th place in the Western Conference with a 17-18 record, are in the midst of a three-game losing streak and have dropped eight of their past 10 games.

One specific move that reportedly confused Lakers players was Ham's decision to remove guard D'Angelo Russell from the starting lineup beginning with the Dec. 23 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

LeBron James went off for 40 points in that game, but players viewed the move as a "head-scratcher" due to the lack of a second ball-handler in the lineup to support James, per Charania and Buha.

Last season was Ham's first campaign as the Lakers' head coach after he spent the previous four years as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Despite both James and Anthony Davis missing extended time with injuries, Ham led the Lakers to a 43-39 record and a win in the play-in tournament, which qualified L.A. for the playoffs.

After getting past the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors in the first two rounds, the Lakers were swept by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference.

Fans widely expected the Lakers to make it at least that far again in Ham's second season, but at this point, they are far from a lock to even make it into the play-in tournament, let alone the postseason.

It wasn't long ago that the Lakers were on a hot streak, as they won four games in a row in early December, including beating the Indiana Pacers to win the inaugural NBA in-season tournament.

Both James and Davis are playing at an All-Star level as usual, but outside of them and Austin Reaves, the Lakers have not gotten consistent production from the rest of the roster.

As the sources who spoke to Charania and Buha theorized, it could be because Ham has made too many changes to the rotation and involved too many players.

Eleven players average at least 17 minutes per game for the Lakers, and while having depth is a positive, Ham may need to shorten the rotation to get the most out of his best players.

If the Lakers don't turn things around and move on from Ham after the season, they would have to hire their fifth different head coach in the past 10 seasons.

There is still plenty of time for the Lakers to turn things around, however, and it starts with Friday when L.A. hosts an 11-23 Grizzlies team that has lost four of its past five games.