It was recently revealed that there is a “deepening disconnect” between Darvin Ham and the Los Angeles Lakers locker room.
Lakers rookie Maxwell Lewis, who has only seen action in 12 games this season, recently liked a post on Instagram that reported the news.
It’s certainly troubling for the Lakers that there appears to be some tension between Ham and his players. The team is currently on a three-game losing streak after losing to the Miami Heat at home on Wednesday night and has lost eight of its last 10 games.
Ever since defeating the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 9 to win the league’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Lakers have gone 3-9 and now sit in 10th place in the Western Conference with a 17-18 record.
Lewis, who was acquired by the Lakers as part of a trade after being drafted in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft, has gone back and forth between the NBA and G League this season.
In four games with the South Bay Lakers, Los Angeles’ G League affiliate, Lewis is averaging 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while knocking down 42.6 percent of his shots from the field and 26.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Though he hasn’t seen much time with Los Angeles, he’s undoubtedly been around to see enough of the reported trouble inside the locker room.
Despite the recent report of the rift, a high-ranking Los Angeles source recently pushed back on the idea that Ham is about to be fired.
It seems as though the Purple and Gold will give Ham some time to figure things out as the season goes on. After all, he was able to lead the team to the Western Conference Finals in his first season as the organization’s head coach.
Los Angeles has four games left on its current home stand before traveling to face the Utah Jazz on Jan. 13. After that, it will return back to California for another six straight games at Crypto.com Arena, with one of the games coming against the Los Angeles Clippers.
There’s lots of time left in the 2023-24 season, but time is ticking for Ham and his team.
