Report: Darvin Ham’s firing ‘not a LeBron James issue’
LeBron James has a lot of power with the Lakers, but he was reportedly not involved in the firing of Darvin Ham.
LeBron James has a lot of power within the Lakers organization. Any organization he’s been a part of, he’s had a good amount of power.
From time to time, he’ll throw his weight around just enough to make sure things go his way, most notably in his desire for the Lakers to trade for Russell Westbrook. While he’s taken a backseat since that faux pas, he also still has that weight.
So the question is fair to ask: Did he have any part in firing Darvin Ham? While LeBron has feuded with coaches before and made it known, he wasn’t quite that forward or direct about Ham.
On Friday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN was asked about LeBron’s involvement in the firing.
"I don't think this was a LeBron James decision or issue." - Woj pic.twitter.com/qkn65jP7k0
— John Ledesma (@JohnnyNBA) May 3, 2024
While this is speculation, Woj speculation carries more weight, especially when he just spoke to Rich Paul, agent of LeBron, days ago.
At times this season, various LeBron quotes were twisted and turned as digs at Ham. Perhaps some were, but at best, it required a bit of squinting and projection to determine what he was saying. With someone like LeBron, who knows the weight his words carry, if he has something to say, he’ll say it and not do so indirectly.
In fact, for almost the entire season, LeBron repeatedly pointed to injuries as the biggest factor in the team’s poor season. Both can be true, but LeBron never had beef there.
There’s also the possibility that LeBron knew that Ham was going to be fired anyway and just didn’t get involved in the matter either. The writing was pretty much on the wall even before the season ended in Game 5.
Now, as the team searches for it’s new head coach, you can be certain LeBron is going to be involved. The interesting aspect moving forward, though, is not how much LeBron is involved but how much Anthony Davis — who really grabbed the reigns of the franchise this season — is going to be involved.
As always, interesting times in Los Angeles.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.