Darvin Ham...update: Fired

[danfantastk32]

New coach hires don’t fascinate me anymore. At least not with Bron on the roster.

You could just stop at the first sentence for me. I'm over this revolving door of coaches. It's just candy for kids, at this point.

[Ball so hard]

All you need to do is watch LeBron's teams over the years to know that answer. No coach can change how Bron's teams play. There is no real system other than "hold my beer".

If you add a clown like Russell you get what we got.

I’m a LeBron hater as much as the next guy. I thought he played really well in the playoffs and our team played with intensity every game.

We were missing a legit center to relieve AD from brushing all game and DLo just turns into a traffic cone if he isn’t streaking on offense.

Anyways I’m sure this has been discussed a thousand times.

For me, Bron is the most gifted baskeball player I've seen. He's also mentally fragile and self absorbed. Great player but the end result isn't great basketball and the stuff about not shaking hands is a copy from the day of old for effect IMHO.

In the end, at this point in his career, he's not going to hand the ball over to someone else and play off the ball. It really doesn't matter who the coach is in that case.

Some fans will always blame the coach because that's what fans do. What we saw this year wasn't a deficit of coaching or system. It's the same system we've seen... 3 quarters of basketball followed by the last 8 minutes of Bron ball. It's how his entire career has gone.. he's just not good enough any more to pull the team across the line like he's done in the past.

If the ownership is interested in championships then it's time to move on and blow it up. We've seen year and year again since the old man passed that they will not do that. They make their living off the Lakers and another stretch of rebuilding cuts into the bottom line too much.

Spot on! I was in favor of blowing up this team two years ago. I’ve said a number of times that I can’t wait until Lebron is off this team. If we draft his son I’d probably give on this team for good.

[stan francisco]

I’m fine with dumping LeBron and building around AD with the young core and some of the role players we have. Bring in Budenholzer and a star to pair with AD like Mitchel or DeRozan and we’ll be a defensive powerhouse.

Rob will probably go with a high odds no-name choice again to prove his genius. That’s why I’m thinking it’ll be Hammon or Stackhouse. I’d be fine with that but we need a champion if we can get one. Budenholzer is probably it.

[tamaraw08]

Im fine with criticizing the moves of this front office. This franchise has been far from perfect over the past couple of decades imo.
Even with them winning the threepeat, The bickering of Shaq and Kobe, Shaq being overweight, Kobe’s Narcissistic mindset, Buss mistreating Phil twice, hiring bad coaches, questionable cost cutting moves like letting Caruso walk etc etc.
But it bothers me whenever I read comments of so-called “Loyal fans” declaring they are done rooting for this team if they do certain things they detest.
We have witnessed and suffer greatly ever since the devastating achilles injury of Kobe, for more than 7 years we were in Hell and yet Lebron comes, recruit AD, wins a chip, a few years and frustration including a 47 win season where this 39 year old missed like 10 games and we can’t wait for him to leave and suffer another 8 years of hell?
Again I’ll continue to support if he stay or leaves.. unlike some here.

[SlimShady83]

I am one of few who never wanted Bron on here, but It is, what It is. Glad most of you are catching up and don't care If he Is gone

As for Ham glad he gone.

[tamaraw08]

I am one of few who never wanted Bron on here, but It is, what It is. Glad most of you are catching up and don't care If he Is gone

As for Ham glad he gone.

May I ask those “fans”, their most realistic expectations on what would happen once this guy leaves this team?
For those with short term or selective memories, let me remind them those experience.
55 excruciating losses in 2013
Followed by 61 humiliating setbacks
Then another 65 gut wrenching defeats in 2015
Then by this time, most us have been numbed by getting bludgeoned 56 more times by most teams. Maybe some fans here have “moved on” a few years ahead because they were actually more like Kobe fanatics/Lebron haters, masquerading as Lakers supporters?
If they want more of that then so be it, heck maybe they’ll be more active on this board and show more support.

[danfantastk32]

For those with short term or selective memories, let me remind them those experience.
55 excruciating losses in 2013
Followed by 61 humiliating setbacks
Then another 65 gut wrenching defeats in 2015

Might I remind you of the couple years leading up to that? Like when we gave 3 first round picks for the ancient Nash. Our attempt to get CP3 had crushed Odom's psyche, and he demanded a trade immediately. We essentially got nothing for him. We got Dwight, and then he walked....we got nothing for him. We burned Pau...and then Pau walked away and took a paycut to goto Chicago. So we got nothing for him. Kobe was now old and injured...but having nothing else in their quiver of tricks....they gave him a massive 3 year contract, and we all got to go down together, in this slow, sinking, barge.

So there we were...big holes in our drafting ability....All our talent had left for zero in return, and the FO squeezed every fan-$$ they could out of the base.....until it officially sunk. And then there we were with the sh***iest team of all-time for the next 3-4 years.

Now......DOESN"T THAT SOUND ALOT LIKE THE EDGE WE"RE STANDING AT HERE?????

Maybe this time, we trade Dwight...i mean AD, and get picks! Let's not do another Nash/Westbrick boner, and lose more draft capital. Let's not pay this aging star this obscene 50-60mil a year deal because we're afraid to do anything else.

Or we could resign Lebron...keep AD until he goes down again, and we never get anything for him. We could use our 3-4 picks to try and make a "splash" in FA (like they have made public they want to do), and watch that guy leave when Lebron and AD leave....and there we'll be...about to face the exact scenario you dread. So in fact.....you don't need to remind me of how crap those years were. I'm perfectly aware. I don't want to do that again! You just needed to be reminded of how we got there, I guess.

What this team needs to do is sell it's assets, and get picks. The rebuild is coming. How long and ugly do you want to make it? And more importantly, is this team worth trying to squeeze a few more runs out of? If it were....I could see the logic. But this team is middle of the road. Totally not worth it.

[danfantastk32]

I am one of few who never wanted Bron on here, but It is, what It is. Glad most of you are catching up and don't care If he Is gone

As for Ham glad he gone.

Just because I recognize that the Lebron train is done, doesn't mean I regret signing him. He and AD brought us a chip. I wanted this thing blown up after the sweep last year, but I was perfectly happy with their time here.

I got no AD or Lebron hate. Both great players, and were good Laker players. But I just see the reality of what's in front of us with those two...and I recognize we could get some very valuable picks for AD if we blew this thing up. Might even get a pick or two for Lebron if played right. So like that car you've had for 8 years....some great memories....but it's time. Trade it in while it still has some value.

[tamaraw08]

For those with short term or selective memories, let me remind them those experience.
55 excruciating losses in 2013
Followed by 61 humiliating setbacks
Then another 65 gut wrenching defeats in 2015

Might I remind you of the couple years leading up to that? Like when we gave 3 first round picks for the ancient Nash. Our attempt to get CP3 had crushed Odom's psyche, and he demanded a trade immediately. We essentially got nothing for him. We got Dwight, and then he walked....we got nothing for him. We burned Pau...and then Pau walked away and took a paycut to goto Chicago. So we got nothing for him. Kobe was now old and injured...but having nothing else in their quiver of tricks....they gave him a massive 3 year contract, and we all got to go down together, in this slow, sinking, barge.

So there we were...big holes in our drafting ability....All our talent had left for zero in return, and the FO squeezed every fan-$$ they could out of the base.....until it officially sunk. And then there we were with the sh***iest team of all-time for the next 3-4 years.

Now......DOESN"T THAT SOUND ALOT LIKE THE EDGE WE"RE STANDING AT HERE?????

Maybe this time, we trade Dwight...i mean AD, and get picks! Let's not do another Nash/Westbrick boner, and lose more draft capital. Let's not pay this aging star this obscene 50-60mil a year deal because we're afraid to do anything else.

Or we could resign Lebron...keep AD until he goes down again, and we never get anything for him. We could use our 3-4 picks to try and make a "splash" in FA (like they have made public they want to do), and watch that guy leave when Lebron and AD leave....and there we'll be...about to face the exact scenario you dread. So in fact.....you don't need to remind me of how crap those years were. I'm perfectly aware. I don't want to do that again! You just needed to be reminded of how we got there, I guess.

What this team needs to do is sell it's assets, and get picks. The rebuild is coming. How long and ugly do you want to make it? And more importantly, is this team worth trying to squeeze a few more runs out of? If it were....I could see the logic. But this team is middle of the road. Totally not worth it.

Please note the past few posts before ours regarding some regulars here expressing their hatred of Lebron and specifically suggesting to get rid of just him.
I'm not oblivious to the fact that the worst is about to come, if you want to do a FULL REBUILD by getting rid of all tradeable assets for future picks then do a full rebuild and not single out a 39 year old who missed like 10 out of 89 games.
But the way on how to make this appear like a "mutual decision" from both sides with AD and Lebron sincerely wanting to leave would be the most tricky part because if they fail, there would be a huge backlash or consenquences as superstars=future free agents talk among themselves and notice how teams treat them. Boston got extremely lucky they found an impatient Prokhorov who was willing to sell their future and at the same time KG and Pierce were willing to leave but good luck finding that crazy owner.
It just bothers me that some regulars here were unusually quiet and took extended sabbaticals when they won it all back in 2020 then started sprouting like weeds the moment this team encountered difficulties.

[danfantastk32]

Please note the past few posts before ours regarding some regulars here expressing their hatred of Lebron and specifically suggesting to get rid of just him.
I'm not oblivious to the fact that the worst is about to come, if you want to do a FULL REBUILD by getting rid of all tradeable assets for future picks then do a full rebuild and not single out a 39 year old who missed like 10 out of 89 games.
But the way on how to make this appear like a "mutual decision" from both sides with AD and Lebron sincerely wanting to leave would be the most tricky part because if they fail, there would be a huge backlash or consenquences as superstars=future free agents talk among themselves and notice how teams treat them.

So I agree with most of you post. But I will counter that I think this last point is vastly overstated around here. I mean the Clippers shipped off Griffin to basket ball "siberia" aka Detroit like 4 months after extending him. They landed Kawhi the following offseason with PG.

What Boston did with I-Thomas straight up sucked. Like that was sh**y by normal people standards, not this pampered NBA. Look players bolt...guys get dealt. Not giving Lebron the $60mil per year extension he demands is hardly screwin the guy over. You sit them down, and tell them we are rebuilding. We'll keep you, but we'd rather get something for you. We'd love to sign and trade. But we're not gonna keep you for tons of $$. Same with AD....let him know we're rebuilding. Does he have any preferred destinations? Try and accommodate, but be firm with doing whats best for us. This won't "black list" us, or something. Sure...Clutch will prob be a bit butt-hurt for the next 3-4 years....but we've done several of their guys pretty damn good.

We need to worry about us. Get the most we can for AD. See if we can get anything for Lebron. If everyone can walk away happy, that's great. But after the last 3 years, and their insistence that we go get Westbrick....alot of this is on them. Maxing these two, and hoping for a title makes zero sense. There might be some grumbling for 6 months...but so what? Everyone knows this is the smart move to make, so it'll all calm down in short time...if anything even comes of it. Teams are allowed to announce it's rebuilding time.

[Landsberger]

I am one of few who never wanted Bron on here, but It is, what It is. Glad most of you are catching up and don't care If he Is gone

As for Ham glad he gone.

May I ask those “fans”, their most realistic expectations on what would happen once this guy leaves this team?
For those with short term or selective memories, let me remind them those experience.
55 excruciating losses in 2013
Followed by 61 humiliating setbacks
Then another 65 gut wrenching defeats in 2015
Then by this time, most us have been numbed by getting bludgeoned 56 more times by most teams. Maybe some fans here have “moved on” a few years ahead because they were actually more like Kobe fanatics/Lebron haters, masquerading as Lakers supporters?
If they want more of that then so be it, heck maybe they’ll be more active on this board and show more support.

This is coming... no matter what. We can "slide" into it chucking first round picks that will make other teams stronger while trying to fill voids that don't exist in the context of an actual contender... or we can do it fast, without chucking more firsts away. The difference is about 3 years in duration. I'll take the one with the 55 losses next year over the one with 3 more years of 40ish wins while Davis's trade value diminishes and deepens the hole we're already in.

As a very long term fan of the Lakers, 40ish win season are less fun to watch than development ones knowing that we're on the downward slide.

[SlimShady83]

I am one of few who never wanted Bron on here, but It is, what It is. Glad most of you are catching up and don't care If he Is gone

As for Ham glad he gone.

Just because I recognize that the Lebron train is done, doesn't mean I regret signing him. He and AD brought us a chip. I wanted this thing blown up after the sweep last year, but I was perfectly happy with their time here.

I got no AD or Lebron hate. Both great players, and were good Laker players. But I just see the reality of what's in front of us with those two...and I recognize we could get some very valuable picks for AD if we blew this thing up. Might even get a pick or two for Lebron if played right. So like that car you've had for 8 years....some great memories....but it's time. Trade it in while it still has some value.

Why quoting me on this? I didn't mention you or anyone else on the forum in regards to what I said. All is good though lol

Tamaraw: I'll get back to you when I can working two jobs and on phone have more to say, when home.

"It's Just Basketball"

[danfantastk32]

Why quoting me on this? I didn't mention you or anyone else on the forum in regards to what I said. All is good though lol"

"I am one of few who never wanted Bron on here, but It is, what It is. Glad most of you are catching up......

Just answering your question here... you seemed to be saying that you never wanted Lebron, and its about time everyone finally saw what you saw.....or something along that line. I was taking that, and saying just because I think he needs to leave NOW, doesn't mean I wasn't happy with what he was a few years back, or have regrets.

Maybe that wasn't what you meant? If so, my bad.

[SlimShady83]

I've always said I've never wanted him even from the get go, don't care what his done either. I'm hater always will be always have been even way B4 he on the Lakers. Nothing wrong with that, we all have our likes dislikes Edit; just because his on the Lakers and done things, doesn't mean I have to like him

[danfantastk32]

I've always said I've never wanted him even from the get go, don't care what his done either. I'm hater always will be always have been even way B4 he on the Lakers. Nothing wrong with that, we all have our likes dislikes Edit; just because his on the Lakers and done things, doesn't mean I have to like him

Yep...you don't have to like him at all. That's not what I was saying. But hey...you don't like him, and we'll leave it at that

[Beethoven]

Lebron is gonna retire a laker

[SlimShady83]

I am one of few who never wanted Bron on here, but It is, what It is. Glad most of you are catching up and don't care If he Is gone

As for Ham glad he gone.

May I ask those “fans”, their most realistic expectations on what would happen once this guy leaves this team?

For Lakers It's always chip OR Bust, realistically It's playoffs OR bust, should be for all teams.

If you really want to know why then contribute In the yearly prediction thread that I and others do every year been doing It for a while now:) that will help when time comes:) we'll do another next season and even when his gone - I don't always start em though.

I've enjoyed the Lakers a hell of lot more with Bron off the team then on (chip or no chip). I remember when he signed the contract for the Lakers I posted on facebook and else where "Oh crap It begins" all my mates gave me crap for it LOL they knew exactly what I meant and some still give me crap lols

I don't know what you're really trying to do with the stats thingy, as I've already stated never liked him b4 and don't like him now will probably like him once his off the team though maybe, but only cause I can start enjoying Lakers alot more again

Kobe fanatics/Lebron haters, masquerading as Lakers supporters?

Wow I had a lot more to say to this, but not going to now as, I've made my peace already.

I can tell you one thing though, I can bet you If everyone here was honest and said who'd they go for, there would be a lot more Bronfanatics and Kobe haters, then Kobe fanatics and Bron Haters - and nothing wrong with either not everyone here bleeds purple and gold.

The fact that I've mentioned from the start (even created a thread on It) I became a Laker fan since day one because of KOBE and yet now that Kobe Is retired/gone/peace I'm still here and yet getting called that, just becuase I don't like care much for another player/star wowsers.

Yet you seem at least It feels like to me you're trying to convince me to Like Bron JUST because his on the Lakers? even though as I've already stated I've hated him way b4 he become a Laker and just because his now on the Lakers I have to like him? like WT? Don't care what his done on the Lakers he could help win another 5 chips for the Lakers, still not going to like him.

Sorry for the quoting and all hope It makes sense just got home from long shift

You can reply back here or not I really don't care I've said my peace and think we should leave It at that.

[DNP-Old]

My (woefully uninformed) prediction on who the next LAL head coach will be... Juwan Howard.

[danfantastk32]

My (woefully uninformed) prediction on who the next LAL head coachwill be... Juwan Howard.

I think your prediction is about as good as anyone's around here. I'm in the camp that the coach is not the issue, so it doesn't matter to me too much. Luke Walton was a "great coach" with that GS dynasty......no so good with out band of youth. Funny how that seems to work. Popp was a legendary coach with Duncan....pushing .500 without. Until we do something about our roster, the coach will just be our biennial fall guy.

[Landsberger]

Howard is too strong of a personality for Bron. Bron will pick the next coach... behind the scenes like he does everything else.