Lakers Rumors: Agents Call Front Office About Players Not Getting Right Opportunities

Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham is firmly on the hot seat, and players are reportedly so frustrated with their inconsistent minutes that agents are contacting the front office.

"There's a lot of chatter from people around the organization that he's not the guy that's going to be able to get this thing over the hump. ... The noise is very loud. There are a lot of people very frustrated. A lot of agents calling the front office frustrated about their guys not getting the right opportunities," Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said on No Cap Room (24:45 mark).

The Lakers have lost nine of their last 11 games and four straight overall to sit at 17-19 on the season. They would be the Western Conference's No. 11 seed and not even reach the Play-In Tournament if the season ended today.

The performance is a far cry from the Lakers' stellar performance in the In-Season Tournament, when they became the inaugural winners of the event.

"We just suck right now," Lakers star LeBron James told reporters after Friday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. "Everybody's getting so cracked up about Vegas, keeps bringing up Vegas—it was two games. We took care of that business, that was the In-Season Tournament. We played. We won it. But that was literally just two games."

The Lakers front office prioritized continuity over big splashes during the offseason, hoping their midseason roster revamp that resulted in a Western Conference Finals appearance would yield long-term results. That has not been the case, with James and Anthony Davis again being forced to shoulder too much of the load.

General manager Rob Pelinka structured contracts of D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves well enough that they remain tradeable assets, but the Lakers don't have much in terms of draft compensation or promising young players to offer. Their best hope on the trade market will likely be a distressed asset with a high salary, which is why they've come up as the favorite to land Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine.

Ham certainly hasn't coached well enough to save his job if that's Pelinka's first attempt at a shake-up, but it's worth noting he's the same coach who shepherded a similar roster to the Western Conference Finals a year ago.