Clippers Rumors: Bucks' Darvin Ham to Interview for HC Job amid Ty Lue Buzz

Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham is reportedly set to interview with the Los Angeles Clippers about their head coaching vacancy this week.

ESPN's Malika Andrews reported Tuesday that Ham is scheduled to meet with both the Clippers and Indiana Pacers in the coming days.

Ham, a former NBA forward from 1996 to 2005, has served on the Bucks staff under Mike Budenholzer since 2018. He previously served as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks and has head coaching experience with the New Mexico Thunderbirds in the G League.

The 47-year-old Texas Tech product won an NBA championship as a player with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. He appeared in 22 games during that year's playoff run.

In June, he credited Budenholzer for allowing him to fill a wide-ranging role that's helped him develop as a coach during an appearance on the Truth and Basketball with George Karl podcast (via Christian Clark of the New Orleans Advocate).

"Coach Bud has allowed me to have a voice, he's allowed me to grow, he's allowed me responsibility," Ham said. "And we do everything. I do player development. I do game plans. I scout for some of the biggest teams I have to prepare our team for. So it's a situation that's favorable, and he's allowed me to be me."

He's far from the only candidate for the Clippers vacancy, which has been most frequently linked to Tyronn Lue, a Clips assistant and the former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The 2016 title-winning coach has had widespread interest from the New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown, a former head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, is another candidate.

Whoever the Clippers hire to replace Doc Rivers, who has since signed on to coach the Philadelphia 76ers, will face immediate pressure to push the star-studded roster, led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, to a championship.

They fell short of that goal during the 2020 playoffs, blowing a 3-1 series lead against the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals and getting eliminated.