The Los Angeles Lakers are not planning to fire head coach Darvin Ham, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka have informed Ham that his job is not in jeopardy despite the team being only 19-20.
“I speak to Rob every day, and we’re always discussing ways to improve our team and what we can do better as a coaching staff,” Ham told Haynes. “It’s an open dialogue that I embrace and that is helpful. We’re all trying to get this right, and we will.”
NBA insiders Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported earlier in the week that there’s a deepening disconnect between Ham and the Lakers locker room. After that report came out, Buss texted Ham and told him his job was safe.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
“I had like 50 texts when I checked my phone that day,” Ham said. “I’m not on social media, so I don’t know what people are saying. But I’m getting text messages saying, ‘Hang in there. Are you OK? It’s going to be OK. I’m here for you.’ I thought somebody died. That was my initial reaction. Then someone sent me story with some unnamed sources and I was like, ‘This s–t?’ Everything is going to be alright. We’ve got a good team. We just got more work to do.”
Since winning the In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas, the Lakers are only 5-11. They are in 10th place in the Western Conference standings and look lost on offense and defense.
However, Ham still believes the Lakers have enough to win.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers Updates
“I don’t know what will happen with our roster, but I like our team,” Ham said. “AD is playing some of his best basketball. LeBron is still LeBron. I believe we will get rolling again. We’ll figure this out.”
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