LA Lakers News Roundup: Lakers name Darvin Ham as their new head coach, Giannis Antetokounmpo credits the Purple and Gold franchise for making the right decision and more | 28th May 2022

Darvin Ham will coach LeBron James and the LA Lakers next season. [Photo: Los Angeles Times]

Frank Vogel’s replacement has finally been named. The LA Lakers hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham to be their new head coach.

Ham separated himself early from Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson. He will now be the official lead bench tactician for the Hollywood team.

In an ideal world, the Milwaukee Bucks would gladly keep Darvin Ham from rival teams, but it’s a career jump that the former NBA player richly deserves. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee’s two-time MVP, called the Lakers’ move the right one.

LA Lakers guard/forward Kent Bazemore signed up for the Purple and Gold team over his previous team, the Golden State Warriors. The Dubs are now waiting for their opponent in the NBA Finals, while Bazemore, who hardly found minutes on the floor for L.A., could be ruing his decision to change teams.

Darvin Ham has been appointed the new LA Lakers head coach

LeBron James is excited with Darvin Ham's appointment as the Lakers' head coach. [Photo: Klutch Basket]

After bringing in Phil Jackson and weeks of thorough searching, the LA Lakers have finally found the guy to lead them next season. L.A. went for a first-time head coach in Darvin Ham instead of going for established veterans such as Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson.

Ham’s candidacy started gaining momentum last week after he reportedly nailed everything the LA Lakers were looking for. The former NBA journeyman got the nod due to his work as an assistant coach, experience dealing with players and commanding presence.

The Lakers have hired Darvin Ham as coach, sources tell ESPN.

The 48-year-old coach will lead a team that has championship or bust makeup. He will have to make the trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook work after it spectacularly imploded this season.

.@KingJames welcomes new Lakers' head coach Darvin Ham to the squad 👏 https://t.co/dKZwvBZImG

Ham will also have to deal with the intense Los Angeles media surrounding the Lakers and the behind-the-scenes politics of the front office.

LeBron James, whose opinion is likely what the Lakers were basing their decision on, quickly took to social media to welcome the hire. The new coach was warmly congratulated by several legends of the team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo calls the Darvin Ham hire the right decision by the Lakers

Darvin Ham was a key part of the Milwaukee Bucks' coaching staff working with Giannis Antetokounmpo. [Photo: Behind the Buck Pass]

Giannis Antetokounmpo worked with Darvin Ham from 2018 until this season. Ham played a crucial part for Mike Budenholzer during his stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. The Greek Freak will lose someone he was comfortable interacting with and learning from, but he is happy about Ham’s hiring.

Darvin Ham started his coaching career in player development and was in Antetokounmpo’s ear in each of his four seasons with the Bucks. The Greek superstar was an All-Star, a two-time MVP and Defensive Player of the Year during Ham’s stay in Milwaukee.

On the Lakers hiring of Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Giannis Antetokounmpo tells ESPN: “I’m so happy for him. He’s the right fit for them. He keeps it real with you. No BS at all. It’s about damn time. He deserves it more than anyone.”

The biggest work that the 48-year-old will have to do will be to make Russell Westbrook an integral part of the team. Westbrook struggled badly last season, which is reportedly why former head coach Frank Vogel was fired.

Ham isn’t expected to have a honeymoon period, as team owner Jeanie Buss wants to make up for their disastrous season. LeBron James has nothing in mind but championships while Westbrook will be looking to prove his worth again.

Giannis Antetokounmpo believes the Bucks’ former assistant coach will be up to the task.

Kent Bazemore doesn’t feel too good swapping the Golden State Warriors for the LA Lakers to win a championship

Kent Bazemore snubbed the Golden State Warriors for the LA Lakers to win a championship. [Photo: Lake Show Life]

Kent Bazemore played for the Golden State Warriors last season. He didn’t like the Dubs’ chance of winning the championship, so he bolted for the LA Lakers. He thought that his outside shooting would be needed by a team that had LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Bazemore couldn’t have been more wrong. The Golden State Warriors just punched another ticket to the NBA Finals, while the swingman has long had a vacation after L.A.’s epic failure.

Pouring salt into his wounds was the fact that he played only 39 games for the Lakers after seeing the floor 67 times for the Bay Area team.

After clinching the Warriors clinched a finals berth, Bazemore posted this:

“Congrats to my homies…….But I’m sick bruh”

Congrats to my homies…….

But I’m sick bruh 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

Bazemore’s games, minutes, scoring and shooting percentage all fell off a cliff in his one season with the LA Lakers. He saw action for only 14 minutes a game, averaging 3.4 points on 32.4% shooting, including 36.3% from beyond the arc.

Bazemore turned down more money and years (two) from the Warriors, sources say, but believes he will have a bigger role and opportunity to win a championship with the Lakers. Bazemore is betting on himself. twitter.com/ShamsCharania/…

His numbers dropped in comparison to his time with the Warriors, where he posted 7.2 points, hitting 44.9% of his shots, including 40.8% from long range.