Darvin Ham spent the last two years coaching LeBron James and it appears he was given a chance to coach another all-time great recently. NBA insider Marc Stein reported that new Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer tried to get Ham to join his staff, but he turned down the offer.
“League sources say Budenholzer made a run at trying to convince Darvin Ham to join his staff in Phoenix, but Ham — fired as Lakers coach on May 3 — is said to have understandably passed after two exacting seasons in Lakerland,” Stein wrote. “The Suns responded by asking David Fizdale, from Vogel’s staff, to stay on as an assistant coach on Budenholzer’s new staff after initially offering him a front office role.”
That’s quite an interesting turn of events. I am sure that being the head coach for LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers would have taken quite a toll mentally on Ham, but passing on this opportunity sure is a bit surprising.
Not only is he turning down a chance to coach someone like Kevin Durant, but also an opportunity to work with Budenholzer. That’s someone Ham is very comfortable working with, having been an assistant to him for nine seasons.
They first teamed up on the Atlanta Hawks, when Budenholzer became the head coach for the franchise in 2013. It was his first head coaching gig in the NBA and he hired Ham to be a part of his staff. Neither would have known it at the time, but it was the beginning of a long and successful partnership.
Together, they led the Hawks to a franchise record 60 wins in the 2014-15 season and that team also made it all the way to the Conference Finals. The following years weren’t quite as successful, however, and Budenholzer mutually parted ways with the franchise in 2018.
He wouldn’t be without a job for too long, though, as the Milwaukee Bucks hired him less than a month later. Ham followed Budenholzer and the two of them won a championship together in 2021.
A year after that title win, Ham became the head coach for the Lakers. After a bit of a difficult start, he led the team to the Western Conference Finals, where they were swept by the Denver Nuggets.
Getting that far meant increased expectations the following season, but the Lakers failed to live up to them. They went 47-35 (after going 43-39 in 2022-23) and were knocked out by the Nuggets in five games, this time in the first round. That early exit led to Ham getting the boot, but I think he will be back coaching in the NBA in some capacity soon enough.
Budenholzer doesn’t appear to have been the only one to contact Ham. According to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, the Golden State Warriors had conversations with the 50-year-old as well.
“The Warriors had some conversation with former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham in recent weeks, per league sources,” Slater wrote. “That isn’t expected to materialize. But it is a signal of the Warriors’ desire to add a big-name assistant, and indications are they are in search of either a former head coach or former player to fill the role.”
Slater didn’t elaborate on why it wouldn’t materialize. Maybe it’s just about Ham needing a break or perhaps after being a head coach, he doesn’t want to go back to being an assistant.
