Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Darvin Ham met for L.A. Clippers job in person

Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham has been a prominent coaching candidate and has reportedly met in person for L.A. Clippers’ vacancy.

The NBA coaching carousel keeps on spinning and Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham is firmly in the middle of it all.

Ham has been certainly made the rounds for various head coaching vacancies, some of which have already been filled like in the case of the Chicago Bulls. That hasn’t stopped Ham from being a serious contender for other such jobs like with the Indiana Pacers or the high-profile L.A. Clippers’ gig.

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In the case of the latter, it surfaced last week that Ham had lined up an interview for the vacancy, but interest between the two parties may be more serious than first reported.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst relayed on ‘The Jump’ Tuesday afternoon Ham met in person with the Clippers’ front office as they continue to conduct their search for the successor to Doc Rivers.

Windhorst went on to note that the Clippers have kept their cards close to vest as it relates to their search and that of the few whispers that are out there, assistant coach Ty Lue continues to be viewed as a frontrunner. Nevertheless, Windhorst noted how Ham is viewed around the league as they discussed his position in the Clippers’ search specifically:

"“I think Darvin Ham, who I mentioned earlier, is an excellent coach. You saw what Taylor Jenkins was able to do when he went to Memphis coming off that Milwaukee staff last season. Darvin Ham has got that reputation out there in the league as the next big assistant to get a job. But it’s a big ask to ask someone to take over the pressure of someone who’s never been a coach before and I think that puts anybody who comes into this job fresh  in a difficult position.”"

It’s been made very clear throughout this coaching cycle that Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham is viewed in high esteem around the league.

Just as Windhorst mentioned, the success of Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer’s coaching tree and the developmental background that his acolytes have possessed has put someone like Ham high on the list of candidates for open vacancies.

As I wrote about last week, the work and experience that he’s accrued as an assistant coach not just Budenholzer, but under the likes of Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni while with the Los Angeles Lakers early last decade has helped Ham make a seamless transition into the coaching ranks.

While Ham has been continuously linked to such gigs like the Clippers and Pacers, the Houston Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans continue to look for their next head coaches. It remains to be seen whether Ham is considered for those roles as those organization conduct their searches further.

Again, it’s only a matter of time until Ham is a head coach in this league and goes down the path that assistants under Budenholzer have increasingly done over the last few years. Stay tuned for further developments.