Lakers: How LA Is Trying to Duplicate the Success of Two Rival Franchises

Brian Windhorst of ESPN pointed out how the Lakers hiring of Darvin Ham signals the team's desire to model the success of Tyronn Lue and Ime Udoka.

The Lakers didn't go with a retread or an old name. They went with a former player who's toiled for a decade as an assistant on championship caliber teams. Hiring Darvin Ham wasn't just shunning the establishment. It was taking a look around the league and evaluating which new coaching hires have succeed, and which have failed.

The Lakers front office deserves their share of rotten tomatoes for the decisions they've made since winning it all in 2020, but the hiring of Darvin Ham suggests that they've accepted that the "Laker way" of approaching head coaching hires in the past isn't always the best way.  

In a recent episode of the Hoop Collective, host Brian Windhorst noted how the Lakers are trying to duplicate the success that the Boston Celtics have had with rookie head coach Ime Udoka, and Tyronn Lue had with the Cavaliers, with the Darvin Ham hire.

"His [Ham's] resumé, both as a player and as an assistant, to Ty Lue and Ime Udoka. Ty Lue and Ime Udoka's resumes, they're a little bit different type of people, but their resumes are very similar. Darvin's resume is very similar to that. They are attempting to replicate the success that Ty and Ime had, although with a guy that's slightly different in his makeup."

Like Lue and Udoka, Ham was mainly a bench player throughout his entire NBA career. Scrapping for minutes, fighting for every opportunity. 

Like Lue and Udoka, Ham had to spend years an assistant before getting his shot with a franchise and owner striving for a championship. 

Both have enjoyed success as NBA head coaches and both have helped push their team to the Finals (or a championship).

Much like the success of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay pushing NFL teams to hire younger, offensively-minded head coaches, Udoka's success in guiding the Celtics from a middling team in December to the NBA Finals could lead to more NBA teams hiring rookie head coaches with NBA playing experience.

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.