Long-time Boston Celtics fan/analyst Bill Simmons doesn't believe fired head coach Darvin Ham is the reason why the Los Angeles Lakers have faltered over the past two seasons; having most recently been gentlemen's swept by the Denver Nuggets after being ungentlemanly swept by the Nuggs in 2023.
Simmons was heavy on the sarcasm in getting his point across that it was actually Rob Pelinka and the front office's fault that L.A. hasn't seen much success the past few years in a series of posts on X following the news breaking on May 3 that the Lakers weren't retaining Ham.
"It was all Darvin Ham’s fault! Remember when he traded for Westbrook, picked D-Lo over Conley in the Russ makeup trade, drafted Hood-Schifino over Jaquez, signed Wood and Reddish, gave Rui and D-Lo short deals that immediately made them trade rumor guys," Simmons tweeted.
The Ringer's founder made sure to stress that he wasn't a fan, but still put the blame on Los Angeles's brain trust.
"PS: I wasn’t a huge Ham fan," Simmons prefaced before saying, "Didn’t feel like he was any more or less shaky than any other non-elite coach. But it also can’t always be the coach’s fault. Moving on from KCP-Caruso for Russ alone is by far worse than anything Ham did."
Boston Celtics analyst Bill Simmons overlooking key Darvin Ham flaws
The Houdini isn't with Bill on this one. Ham's rotations were messy, overplaying Taurean Prince despite his inconsistent shooting, and once he essentially threw D'Angelo Russell under the bus by claiming that his rotations were erratic because not every starter was playing consistently enough to earn regular minutes, it was a wrap.
If the Lakers want to retain LeBron James, who is likely to test the free agent market as his career enters its twilight years, Ham had to go.
Even with Ham gone, though, James will likely try to team up with his son, Bronny, or ring-chase so he can capture Michael Jordan; who has two more rings, and thus, a leg up in the G.O.A.T. debate.