It seems that Darvin Ham was just given the opportunity to train another all-time great. Ham has been tutoring LeBron James for the past two years. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Ham declined an invitation from newly hired Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer to become a member of his staff.
“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 stated. “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 a really intriguing development in the story. Although I’m sure Ham would have suffered psychologically from leading LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s still remarkable that he turned down this chance.
He is declining not just the chance to work with Budenholzer but also the chance to coach a player of the caliber of Kevin Durant. Having served as his assistant for nine seasons, Ham feels quite at ease working with that person.
When Budenholzer joined the Atlanta Hawks as head coach in 2013, that is when they initially collaborated. He recruited Ham to be a member of his staff, and it was his first head coaching position in the NBA. Though neither of them would have realized it at the time, it marked the start of an enduring and fruitful collaboration.
Together, they guided the Hawks to 60 wins in the 2014–15 campaign, a franchise high, and the team’s trip to the Conference Finals. But the next few years weren’t nearly as prosperous, and in 2018, Budenholzer and the team mutually split ways.
Less than a month later, he was hired by the Milwaukee Bucks, so he wouldn’t be unemployed for long. Budenholzer was followed by Ham, and the two of them shared a championship in 2021.
A year following the championship victory, Ham was hired as the Lakers’ head coach. He guided the team to the Western Conference Finals, where the Denver Nuggets swept them, despite a bit of a rough start.
The Lakers’ success in reaching that far raised hopes for the upcoming season, but they were not met. They finished 47-35 (having finished 43-39 in 2022–23), and the Nuggets eliminated them in five games, again in the opening round. Ham was fired as a result of his early departure, but I believe he will return to the NBA coaching ranks soon enough.
The Warriors Speak With Darvin Ham As Well
It seems that Budenholzer wasn’t the first person to get in touch with Ham. Anthony Slater of The Athletic claims that the Golden State Warriors also spoke with the 50-year-old.
“The Warriors had some conversation with former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham in recent weeks, per league sources,” Slater stated. That is not anticipated to happen. However, it’s a clue that the Warriors want to bring in a high-profile assistant, and there are hints that they’re looking for a former player or head coach to take over.”
Slater did not go into detail as to why it will never happen. Perhaps Ham just needs a vacation, or maybe he doesn’t want to return to assistant coaching after serving as head coach.