Lakers

According to longtime NBA reporter David Aldridge, Lakers legend Magic Johnson wanted a former player to be the team's next head coach.

Seems like the decision-makers agreed." Per longtime NBA reporter David Aldridge, "Magic Johnson told me earlier this week that he wanted the Lakers to hire an ex-player to be L.A.’s next coach. Lakers legend Magic Johnson reportedly only had one ask when it comes to who the team hired as its next coach.

Darvin Ham continues to get praise from the league after the news of his new head coaching job.

Darvin Ham will have many big battles he must face with the Lakers and there are plenty of questions up in the air. As much as people want to criticize Ham right from the jump, he has shown that he can work with superstar power and make something of it. Antetokounmpo has seen the Lakers struggle just as much as anyone else, so it will be interesting to see if Ham is actually a good fit in LA.

Darvin Ham reportedly proved his basketball knowledge during interviews with the Los Angeles Lakers, helping him land the head coaching job.

He will meet with current Lakers coaches — including David Fizdale, Phil Handy, Mike Penberthy — next week to begin the search for his new assistants. He keeps it real with you. And the 48-year-old seems to have already won LeBron James over.

The news of Darvin Ham's hiring as Lakers coach has been met with endorsements from those who crossed paths with the Saginaw native during his career.

He put the time in on the practice floor and it was always a nice carryover in the game. “He was working hard, working all the players out, worked me out,” Sandiford-Artest said. He also is capable of communicating in a way where you can receive it the right way. “… Darvin was such a hard worker. Metta Sandiford-Artest — then known as Metta World Peace — was on that Lakers team and remembers tabbing Ham as a future coach. He remembered Ham as someone who would never “bulls–- in practice” because he was too committed. Every time he got in the game, he just raised the level of play. “He brought the heat to practice every day. He’s a true competitor, has always been a competitor,” Thomas said. “I’m sure if you talked to the guys that he played with, he was probably their favorite-teammate type dude. That Ham struggled to make the team at Saginaw High and still has come so far speaks to an essential part of his character — his relentlessness. Back then, Thomas trusted his returning players to help build the team’s roster, and nearly all of them said Ham should make the cut.