The Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to fire head coach Darvin Ham after two seasons did not necessarily come as too much of a surprise.
Los Angeles fell in the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the defending champion Denver Nuggets in five games. The team was not necessarily competitive against a far superior team.
Meanwhile, there was a ton of drama behind the scenes between Ham and his players. That came out in droves during the aforementioned loss to Denver.
Now that the Lakers have officially moved on from Ham, rumors about a potential replacement continue to heat up. That includes the possibility of hiring former NBA player JJ Redick. Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue is also a possibility. But now, we’re hearing another name being linked to the Lakers.
Related: 7 Los Angeles Lakers head coach candidates
Mike Budenholzer is a top candidate to become the next Los Angeles Lakers head coach
Shams Charania of The Athletic pointed to Budenholzer as a top candidate to replace Ham in Los Angeles. The NBA insider also mentioned Kenny Atkinson and Charles Lee as well as the two names we focused on above.
Budenholzer, 54, would make a ton of sense if the Lakers are looking for experience after the failed Ham experiment. The veteran spent five seasons as the Atlanta Hawks head coach (2013-18) before moving on to the Milwaukee Bucks. He manned the Bucks’ bench for another five seasons, leading them to the NBA title back in 2021.
The veteran coach was then surprisingly fired by Milwaukee following the 2022-23 season despite leading them to a 58-24 record.
All said, Budenholzer has led his team to the playoffs in nine of his 10 seasons as a head coach. He boasts a solid .604 career winning percentage.
