Milwaukee Bucks: Los Angeles Lakers request to interview Darvin Ham

With the Milwaukee Bucks currently preparing for their highly-anticipated matchup versus the Boston Celtics, some news has surfaced regarding one of their well-known assistant coaches.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Los Angeles Lakers have requested permission to interview Darvin Ham, one of Mike Budenholzer’s assistants. Charania adds that the Lakers have started the next stage in their head coaching search, and Ham is rightfully among the candidates they will consider after letting Frank Vogel go once their season concluded. Ham has familiarity within the Lakers organization as he was an assistant there from 2011-13, and it looks like he could make his way back to Los Angeles, this time as the head coach for the purple and gold.

Instant reactions to the Los Angeles Lakers requesting permission to interview Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham

(While Charania’s report does not start whether the Bucks have accepted or denied the Lakers’ request to interview Ham, they will likely accept it.)

First and foremost, this news is not surprising. Ham has been widely recognized as one of the best assistant coaches in the NBA for a long time, and it was speculated that he would receive plenty of interviews for head coaching vacancies around this time. Ham, along with fellow Bucks assistant Charles Lee, have already been asked to interview for the Sacramento Kings coaching vacancy, and there are bound to be more teams to follow after this Lakers news.

It would be great to see Ham land a head coaching job, as he has been more than deserving over the past several years. To see him do it back in Los Angeles would be a welcoming sight, as Ham would get to show his talents on the biggest stage and be the leading voice on a team that has an ample amount of star power with players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The LA job would be quite a first head coaching gig for Ham, but he could be just what that team needs right now as they look to leap back into title contention next season.

The Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers are the first two franchises to express interest in adding Darvin Ham as their next head coach, and more are destined to surface as time progresses. Only time will tell which other names are added to the mix, but there are several other vacancies in the league that could be filled by adding Ham as head coach. After years of interviews and rumors, it feels like this is the year that Ham will land a head coaching gig. He has been among the best in the business for years now as an assistant, and some team will benefit from bringing him aboard as a head coach, whichever one that ultimately may end up being.

For now, best of luck, Darvin Ham!

Stay tuned to see which other teams pop up in the mix for Darvin Ham’s head coaching services as the 48-year-old begins receiving interest.