The New York Knicks, fresh off Tom Thibodeau’s departure, are looking for a new voice.
Could the Knicks do something hilarious and hire a head coach who recently made himself quite unpopular in Los Angeles as a mediocre leader of the Lakers?
We’re talking about Darvin Ham here. Now a top assistant in Milwaukee under Doc Rivers, Ham lasted in LA for two seasons. His first year saw a 43-win campaign and a Western Conference Finals trip, but a first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets in 2023-24 ended his tenure.
On Tuesday, The Athletic listed Ham as a potential Thibs replacement.
“Ham is back in Milwaukee as a top assistant coach after leaving the Bucks for the Lakers, where he coached Los Angeles for two seasons. In Year 1, though, the Lakers won only 43 games, and the team went to the Western Conference finals. In Year 2, the Lakers fell in the first round to the Denver Nuggets, the same group that bested them the season before. Los Angeles moved on from Ham, who returned to Milwaukee under head coach Doc Rivers, where he is close with two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ham is known best for a commanding voice in the locker room. His Lakers teams finished in the middle of the pack on both offense and defense during his two seasons there.”
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The only play for Ham here is if the Knicks are planning on trading for Giannis, in which case his close relationship with the Greek superstar might convince New York to hire him.
But the PR backlash of hiring Ham would likely be not close to worth the squeeze for the Knicks. There are much better candidates available on the market for the taking, and it’s surprising that The Athletic even mentioned Ham as a serious candidate for this job.
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