Lakers' Darvin Ham on Not Starting Christian Wood: Lineups Not 'Popularity Contest'

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham made the somewhat surprising decision to start Jaxson Hayes on Tuesday night for the injured Anthony Davis, snubbing Christian Wood in the process.

Wood didn't appear to take the decision well, though he later clarified his "Lol" tweet:

Ham, meanwhile, defended his own lineup choices while speaking with reporters:

The move didn't exactly pan out—the Lakers lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 138-122, and Hayes finished minus-11 on the night with six points, six rebounds, four steals, one assists, two turnovers and a block in 24 minutes.

Wood was only marginally better, putting up nine points, eight rebounds, two assists and no turnovers while finishing minus-four in 22 minutes.

The 28-year-old Wood has served as Davis' primary backup this season, averaging 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game. He's only made one start, and part of Ham's decision came down to keeping the second unit intact.

"We decided to keep him in his role where he's been for some time to give [Hayes] an opportunity to come out with the energy he played with last night," the head coach told reporters. "Give him a chance to come out and help us in that manner. We're constantly looking for balance with our lineup."

Hayes, 23, had only made one start coming into the night and has seen far less run off the bench, getting just 9.6 minutes per game.

Regardless of whether Wood subtweeted his own head coach or just botched an attempt at quoting a different post, the Lakers sit at just 24-25 and have been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2023-24 season.

Something is amiss in Los Angeles, and it's possible a remedy will come in the form of a trade ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline. But it's also fair to question if Ham might find himself on the hot seat if something doesn't change, if he isn't already there.