Don’t expect him to join the team, however.
It’s the most brutal time of the year for NBA coaches. After the regular season comes the NBA Playoffs for a handful of teams, but for many others comes something I like to refer to as the NBA Layoffs. It’s when the league tends to fire a large number of coaches all at once … some very deserved, but many less so.
The Golden State Warriors haven’t experienced the NBA Layoffs in a decade, but their rivals in Southern California have gone through it plenty. Including this year, when the Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Darvin Ham shortly after a first-round playoff bounce, in which was one of the worst-kept secrets in the NBA.
Could Ham find himself helping out the Warriors? It’s not a crazy idea: under Steve Kerr, the Warriors have been a popular place for former head coaches to take assistant roles and rebuild their value, which Mike Brown and Alvin Gentry parlayed into head coach jobs elsewhere, and Kenny Atkinson is on the verge of doing.
According to a report from Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Warriors have already had discussions with Ham in the last few weeks. However, Slater immediately poured could water on his own report, stating that the addition of Ham “isn’t expected to happen.”
Slater didn’t expand on that report, so it’s unclear if the two sides didn’t see a natural fit, or if Ham simply wants to wait around and see if a head coaching opportunity (or better assistant coach gig) opens up for him. Ham also could want to take some time off following the grind and drama of coaching the Lakers. Since he was fired with time remaining on his contract, Ham will make money this season even if he doesn’t coach.
Either way, you can take the conversations with Ham to mean that the Warriors are in search of a high-profile assistant coach to add to their bench this summer.