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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — With a three-game losing skid dropping his team’s record below .500 as the midseason mark approaches, Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham addressed speculation about his job status Friday by stating he continues to have the support of the franchise’s decision-makers.
“I’m solid,” Ham said before the Lakers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies. “My governor, Jeanie Buss, the boss lady; our president, Robert Pelinka — we’re all aligned. As long as they’re not saying it, I guess I’m good. Which I know how they feel about me and the situation we’re currently in.”
Ham said that reports like the story published Thursday in The Athletic, which cited anonymous sources claiming there was a “deepening disconnect” between the second-year coach and the Lakers’ locker room, simply “comes with the territory.”
However, Ham, who signed a four-year deal in May 2022 to replace Frank Vogel, took issue with the nature of the reporting.
“It reminds me of when I used to watch ’60 Minutes’ with my father in the ’80s. And one particular show they were talking about La Cosa Nostra and the mafia and these guys were starting to go to trial and their star witness shows up with a black potato sack over his head and shades. And due to fear, the name can’t really be released,” Ham said. “And so this seems to be the standard of reporting now for NBA. People on the internet and whatever.
“And not all reporters — I don’t want to disrespect anybody in the room — but when you say the source is anonymous by choice and they don’t want to put their name on something but they want to give you the information and then you take the information and now everybody gets a chance to dissect it and spread it all out in their own way, it’s kind of disingenuous. And I wish we would get to a place where people are firm enough to stand on what they’re saying and then maybe we can have real dialogue and get to it.”
Ham, 50, added that he has maintained a “high level” of communication with L.A.’s two captains — LeBron James and Anthony Davis — as the team has gone through a rough patch.
Ever since winning the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament last month, the Lakers have gone just 3-9, falling to No. 10 in the Western Conference standings with an overall record of 17-18.
For a team coming off a conference finals appearance, fielding two healthy members of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team in James and Davis and committing to the 10th-highest payroll in the league north of $168 million, the expectations were elevated.
“I don’t mind people critiquing the job I’m doing,” Ham continued. “All I’m going to do is keep my head down and continue to do my job until I can’t do it anymore. And so, just, be solid with what you’re putting out there and please don’t intertwine it with personal attacks, either. So, that’s what it is, that’s what I signed up for when I decided to become a coach and I’ve been around some great guys who have handled it well and some coaches that haven’t handled it so well. But me? I’m solid, man. I’ve been through a ton of ‘ish’ in my life and this is a walk in the park. Trust me.”
Ham said the team’s struggles have caused him to “look internally and see what I could be doing better” but also mentioned the injuries that have plagued the Lakers’ season.
“It reminds me of when I used to watch ’60 Minutes’ with my father in the ’80s. And one particular show they were talking about La Cosa Nostra and the mafia and these guys were starting to go to trial and their star witness shows up with a black potato sack over his head and shades. And due to fear, the name can’t really be released. And so this seems to be the standard of reporting now for NBA.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham on reporting citing anonymous sources
L.A. had a third of its top nine-man rotation in street clothes on Friday with D’Angelo Russell (bruised tailbone), Rui Hachimura (left calf strain) and Gabe Vincent (left knee surgery) all out.
“Injuries are a real part of professional sports,” Ham said. “And our performance team, they bust their behinds to make sure our players are available and able to play at a high level. But guys have physical issues that sometimes … Playing our game — I think we have the best athletes in all of sports all around the world — you’re going to subject your body to certain issues.”
The matchup with the Grizzlies on Friday is the second game in a stretch of 11 out of 12 in L.A. for the Lakers.
“You got to remain positive, man,” Ham said. “There’s a losing mentality and a winning mentality. When you have a loser’s mentality, you just go to belabor mistakes and what’s going on, what the problem is, and make excuses. When you have a winner’s mentality, you’re going to identity a problem, analyze it, realize it, and try to change it and capitalize in terms of not making the same mistake twice and adjust.”