Hated Lakers Rival Linked to Darvin Ham After Exit From LA

Heading into June, the Los Angeles Lakers' head-coaching search is expected to heat up with the NBA's offseason festivities quickly approaching. There is no shortage of buzz around this quest to hire LA's next bench leader, but there's also been some reported interest in Darvin Ham, who was just let go from this post.

In fact, the latest intel has connected one of LA's biggest rivals to its former head coach.

NBA insider Marc Stein reports the Phoenix Suns reached out to Ham regarding a potential spot on newly hired HC Mike Budenholzer's staff. However, Ham opted to pass on the offer with his Lakers breakup still being incredibly fresh.

It's no surprise Ham isn't chomping at the bit to get in the ring right away. His tenure in Los Angeles didn't go as planned at all, and he's mostly to blame for two lackluster seasons. After his struggles, this presents a great time to take a step back and learn from his mistakes, especially if he wants to return to head coaching one day.

That being said, rejoining Budenholzer -- whom Ham was an assistant under from 2018-2022 with the Milwaukee Bucks -- would've been a comfy landing spot following his abrupt exit from LA. Maybe he reconsiders rejoining his friend down the line.

Meanwhile, this marks another attempt by the Suns to undermine the Lakers this offseason. This Western Conference rival is also in the running to select Bronny James, who's rejected all pre-draft workout invites across the league except for Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Drafting James is seen as a potential precusor to landing LeBron in the near future, and considering how much star chasing the Suns have done recently, it'd be no surprise at all if this is the organization trying to set itself up for a run at the four-time MVP.

There's clearly no love lost between these two fierce franchises, and this rivalry could hit another gear this offseason, depending on how things play out.

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