JR Smith drops Darvin Ham Lakers' 'scapegoat' take

11/08/2024 02:42 PM

The Los Angeles Lakers are now 4-4 after starting the season strong at 3-0, and some people still don’t believe in what the team can do, even after hiring JJ Redick. Darvin Ham was fired in the offseason, as it seemed like he was the main problem for the Lakers’ shortcomings the past two years, but J.R. Smith believes that it wasn’t his fault.

"Darvin Ham was a scapegoat,” Smith said. “What are you supposed to do with that roster? Cam Reddish was coming off the bench, I felt like he could be better for sure. I feel like his game is the type where you can definitely have the opportunity to run a second unit, but you got to develop some more. Pick and rolls and mature your game a little bit. But other than that their bench [is] nonexistent… They got [LeBron James] trying to be 2005-06 Bron. He still going out there putting up crazy a– numbers. [Anthony Davis] plays when he plays, but that ain’t enough."

"Darvin Ham was a scapegoat… What are you supposed to do with that roster?… They're bench [is] nonexistent… They got [LeBron James] trying to be 2005-06 Bron… That aint enough."

Do you agree with J. R. Smith?

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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 8, 2024

The Lakers technically have the same roster from last season, with the addition of their rookies and Redick. As the season goes on, it will be interesting to see if the team looks any better than the past two seasons with a new coach, and if that was really the problem instead of the talent.

Doc Rivers backs up Darvin Ham after Lakers firing

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers brought Darvin Ham back to the bench after he was fired from the Lakers, and he didn’t understand why they fired him. Rivers was asked about Ham before the start of the season and how it’s been working with him.

"It's been great. First of all, he's been here even longer than me. He knows things that I didn't know. He has relationships with the players. Another guy that can trust," Rivers said. "Trust is so important for players. And more importantly, he deserves it. I'm not going to get into the whole thing that happened there, but he took a team to a Western Finals, and then the following year, he won the in-season tournament, which they say we should have a lot of value on, and then they release him. It literally makes no sense, but it happens. It happens to all of us. It's part of what we do. But Darvin Ham's a coach, he should be on the sidelines, and I wanted him next to me."

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