Austin Reaves signed a four-year, $54 million contact with the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the start of last season. The expectation from all parties involved was that he would become the team’s third-best player.
Unfortunately, for a myriad of reasons, Reaves regressed last year. Some of that is undeniably on him – but a lot also had to do with how then-head coach Darvin Ham opted to play him.
At one point it leaked out that Ham didn’t particularly like Reaves. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the hate was mutual.
As a result, although Reaves put up career-high scoring numbers in 2024, he did so while playing more minutes and shooting less efficiently. He was also routinely played in a way that highlighted his defensive deficiencies and masked some of his offensive prowess.
After the Lakers’ season came to an end, Ham was swiftly let go by the organization. Players didn’t really bother commenting on the situation – which was telling in itself.
This week, Reaves took to social media to confirm just how much he didn’t like Ham:
LSU’s Olivia Dunne Wears Completely See-Through Red Shirt https://t.co/mK9g6FTqQG
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 18, 2024
Clearly Reaves won’t be missing Ham too much now that he is gone.
Anthony Davis Was Key To Darvin Ham Being Fired
While Reaves and Ham didn’t get along, that isn’t what cost the latter his job.
Rather, the reason why Ham found himself on the outs with the front office was Anthony Davis.
Davis no longer wanted to play for Ham, and he wasn’t shy about letting folks know.
“When they chose to fire Darvin Ham, I was told that one of the many, many considerations was that it was pretty evident that AD was not on board anymore with Darvin and they know, like everybody else, that AD has a history of having asked for trades in the past,” Sam Amick reported. “That’s how he got to the Lakers from New Orleans. The last thing they wanted was for AD to be frustrated with the situation.”
In the end, Ham’s inability to get along with Reaves and Davis proved to be the death knell for his Lakers head coaching stint.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
