Woj: Darvin Ham 'Expected to Be HC Candidate' Elsewhere in NBA After Lakers Firing

Darvin Ham may have other head coaching opportunities at his disposal about being fired by the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski revealed on Friday that Ham is "expected to be a head coaching candidate elsewhere" in an appearance on SportsCenter (1:20 mark).

Ham finished with a record of 90-74 in two seasons with the organization, although the Lakers' second consecutive playoff defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets ended up sealing his fate.

The writing was on the wall regarding Ham's murky future in Los Angeles after the team's season-ending Game 5 defeat. Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported after the loss that the head coach remaining in place with the organization was "highly unlikely."

Wojnarowksi noted on Friday that although Ham may not necessarily find a new head coaching role during the current 2024 cycle, it could also occur "in the future."

One recent example of a similar situation involved Frank Vogel, who was fired by Los Angeles in April 2022 before joining the Phoenix Suns ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Ham has several years of experience as an assistant coach prior to his brief tenure with the Lakers, which should be enough to warrant interviews with teams that have head coaching vacancies. He spent four years with the Milwaukee Bucks before joining Los Angeles and was a member of the staff during the team's championship-winning season in 2021.

As for the Lakers, several candidates have reportedly emerged as Ham's successor. Per Charania, Los Angeles has interest in former Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, and former shooting guard as well as current ESPN analyst JJ Redick.

Both Ham and the Lakers will be looking for a fresh start in 2024.