As the Lakers’ losses mount, speculations circulate that head coach Darvin Ham is under fire.
It remains to be seen whether Ham can save his position. LA had a 14-21 record after 35 games last season before leveraging the trade deadline to shake things up and go to the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers are 17-18 through 35 games this season, but morale appears to be considerably lower as the franchise seeks answers.
As the Lakers’ losses mount, speculations circulate that head coach Darvin Ham is under fire.
It remains to be seen whether Ham can save his position. LA had a 14-21 record after 35 games last season before leveraging the trade deadline to shake things up and go to the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers are 17-18 through 35 games this season, but morale appears to be considerably lower as the franchise seeks answers.
Can LeBron James coach the Lakers?
LeBron James cannot be hired as the Lakers’ player-coach.
While Hall of Famers such as Russell, Wilkens, Bob Cousy, and Dave Cowens worked as player-coaches during their careers, the NBA prohibited player-coaches when the salary cap was implemented 40 years ago.
Because there is no salary cap for head coaches, a franchise’s decision to pay a player more to double as a coach would be considered cap circumvention. The most recent instance of this occurred prior to the 2004-05 season, when Avery Johnson was reportedly persuaded to resign as a player in order to become Don Nelson’s main assistant coach with the Mavericks.
According to Marc Stein’s 2004 article, Dallas intended for Johnson to serve as an assistant coach who would only suit up in dire emergencies, but the league had “apparent contractual objections over Dallas’ plans to keep Johnson on its active roster as a player-coach.”
Johnson would take over as Mavericks head coach with 18 games remaining in the 2004-05 season and remain in the post through the 2007-08 season.
While James has a strong basketball mind and is frequently seen as a coach on the court — and sometimes in the huddle — he has not signaled a desire to become an NBA head coach.
Whether he wants to or not, NBA rules will prevent James from taking over as head coach in Los Angeles anytime soon.
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