Report: Earlier in the season, Lakers players wanted head coach Darvin Ham dismissed

This season, the Los Angeles Lakers have seen ups and downs in their play. They had a dismal record to begin the year, going 3-5. Despite winning 11 of their next 15 games, they had a terrible slump that lasted most of December and the first part of January.

Los Angeles was just 19–21 by mid-January, a far cry from the high hopes many had for the team at the beginning of the season. Because of this, supporters turned head coach Darvin Ham into a scapegoat, with many of them criticizing him on social media and essentially calling for his dismissal.

It appears that there were others than supporters who want Ham’s removal. A report stated that the team’s players also desired for him to be dismissed.

“A source told Hoops Wire that Lakers players wanted assistant coach Phil Handy to replace Ham earlier in the season,” wrote Ashish Mathur. “However, Los Angeles owner Jeanie Buss is a fan of Ham and she has never thought about firing him as coach, the source said.

“… LeBron [James], arguably the greatest player in NBA history, has ignored Ham in many huddles this season and communicated with Handy instead on what the Lakers should run, the source said.”

Additionally, Mathur mentioned two players who are down on Ham: Anthony Davis and forward Rui Hachimura.

The Lakers players were reportedly dissatisfied with Ham’s coaching earlier in the season, according to at least one report. In fact, some reports claim that his position may not be secure this summer if the team misses the playoffs this season.

The Lakers have now dropped two straight after winning nine of their previous ten games, at least in part because of James and Davis’s health problems. They are only half a game ahead of the 10th-seeded Golden State Warriors as they scramble for ninth place in the Western Conference.