After a one-year stint with the Washington Wizards in 2021, Russell Westbrook was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021. Under Frank Vogel, Westbrook’s first season with the Lakers was a letdown. To turn things around, the Lakers brought in Darvin Ham as their new head coach. But things didn’t exactly pan out the way they expected. The Lakers kicked off that season with a rough 0-5 record but ended up securing the 7th seed to qualify for the playoffs. It was the first time Lebron James started a season 0-5 since his rookie season with the Cavaliers.

On the Pat Bev podcast, Patrick Beverly spilled that the Lakers’ coach at the time apologized for not setting up more practice sessions, like the 35-year-old vet had suggested. Beverley kicked off the story by saying that Ham rolled up to him in Vegas and asked if they could chat for five minutes.

“Coach Ham come up to me, I don’t know his move,” Beverley said on Thursday’s episode of Pat Bev Pod. “‘I’m just (like), ‘What up?’ He (said), ‘Could I get five minutes?’ Oh sh**t, ‘Okay, what up Ham?’ Beverley asked. ‘Just want to let you know Pat, I apologize,'” Ham replied. Despite Patrick Beverly’s reputation as a vocal guy, he could not control the star powers in the team, such as Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook.

“Then, he hit me at the end was like, yeah, man, you got Russ number, I want to reach out to him too.” Beverly added. After two rough seasons with the Lakers, Westbrook got traded to the Clippers in 2023 where he wouldn’t be a key player anymore. Also, the Lakers have fired Darvin Ham from the head coach position and signed JJ Reddick.

Why Reddick over Darvin Ham, per Laker’s insider

According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, JJ Redick is all about structure and organization, while Darvin Ham tends to be unprepared. “One of the common internal complaints with Ham was his lack of preparation. Conversely, Reddick is obsessively structured and organized, from dogmatically attempting 342 game-speed shots every day during the offseason as a player to swiftly developing into one of the game’s premier NBA analysts and podcasters after retiring in 2021.” Buha said.

Even though Ham had a decent rookie season as the Lakers’ head coach, losing to the Nuggets in the playoffs, he caught a lot of heat in his second season from 2023-24. Sure, he had two winning seasons and made the playoffs twice, but that’s just not cutting it for a team like the Lakers, who are all about championships.

The Lakers let him go after two seasons with a 90-74 record. “We greatly appreciate Darvin’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons, including last year’s remarkable run to the Western Conference Finals,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement. “We all want to thank Darvin for his dedication and positivity. While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season. This organization will remain unwavering in its commitment to deliver championship-caliber basketball to Lakers fans around the world.”

With JJ Redick as the new coach, what do you think about the Lakers now?

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.