The Los Angeles Lakers have trimmed their number of coaching candidates, as it was reported on Friday that Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson are now the finalists to land the team’s head coaching job.
Not only do the Lakers need to find a coach who is the type of tactician and bench leader they need, but they also have to appease LeBron James, given the amount of influence he appears to have over the team.
According Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, James would be pleased if Ham ends up being his next head coach.
“He’s the guy LeBron wants,” a competing source said.
James will be entering the final year of his contract, and it seems that keeping him happy is important to the organization.
He reportedly feels at least somewhat optimistic that with a few tweaks and some better luck in the health department, the Lakers can be “super competitive” next season.
Ham has been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks for the last few years, and he has apparently gained a healthy reputation around the NBA for his leadership skills.
Prior to his time as an assistant coach, he had an eight-year playing career in the league.
The Lakers have some difficult decisions to make this season, including one that centers around what to do with Russell Westbrook.
Most consider his time with the team a failure and assume it will look to trade him. However, it has also reportedly been asking prospective coaches what they would do with him, suggesting the team is either considering keeping him or simply giving itself a contingency plan in case it cannot consummate a desirable trade involving him.
