The Los Angeles Lakers hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham last week to replace Frank Vogel.
Thus far, reactions to the move have been mixed.
On Tuesday, NBA on TNT broadcaster Charles Barkley appeared on the Dan Patrick show and offered his two cents on L.A.’s choice.
Specifically, he took one issue with it:
“Well, I’m glad Darvin got an opportunity ’cause he’s paid his dues,” Barkley said. “He’s a nice guy. We’ll have to see what kind of coach he is. But listen, if one of your coaches is close to the same age as your players, your team not gonna be any good, anyway. The Lakers, they got a serious dilemma on their hands.
“Their best player’s gonna be 40. Anthony Davis has never been healthy. Obviously, Russ (Russell Westbrook) is gonna be there one more year, so what’s really bad about the situation — next year is gonna be the same as this year. And then LeBron [James] just gonna be a year older, and then they’ll have Russ off the books.”
While Barkley’s critique was undeniably funny and went mega-viral for obvious reasons – it lacks substance.
Ham is 48 years old. You know who else was 48 years old? Vogel. And he won a championship with the Lakers two years ago. The age gap between the team’s coach and best players was no different when they won a title than when they failed to make the playoffs last year.
Look – L.A. has a big summer ahead. Four teams are interested in acquiring Russell Westbrook. The front office would be wise to take one of those deals. Addition by subtraction and whatnot.
Furthermore, it’s instrumental the Lakers get one of the three guys on their offseason wish list. The roster needs an upgrade from where it was in 2022-23.
Now that’s how you do a boat trip. https://t.co/aGUQVgY0QD
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 2, 2022
But none of that changes the fact that the age gap between LeBron James and Ham will always be small.
Barkley is an entertaining personality, but his criticism often lack substance. This is the latest example of that.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
