The Los Angeles Lakers misplaced to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night time, 108-106, and had been eradicated from the NBA playoffs. It isn’t essentially surprising that the No. 7 seed could not overcome the defending champion No. 2 seed however this collection was notably irritating for Los Angeles.

That’s as a result of the Lakers weren’t overmatched by any means. They recurrently outplayed the Nuggets for lengthy stretches over the course of the five-game collection, however faltered in crunch time almost each recreation.

The blame will fall largely on the shoulders of head coach Darvin Ham, who confronted repeated criticisms for his decision-making over the course of the season. Those self same issues with rotations and timeouts popped up once more within the postseason, and it appears fairly attainable he will probably be dismissed in brief order. The Athletic‘s Shams Charania reported Ham is “extremely unlikely” to return to the Lakers subsequent season, whereas ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported his job is “very a lot in jeopardy.”

The writing is on the wall, in different phrases. Los Angeles is underneath a number of stress to navigate this accurately, given LeBron James’ future sounds very a lot up within the air for the time being. If the franchise decides Ham is not the coach to guide the workforce, what different names would possibly the Lakers take into account?

Listed below are a number of prospects.

Frank Vogel

Vogel is at present employed by the Phoenix Suns, however ought to the rumor mill show true, that might not be the case for very lengthy. He’s feeling the warmth following Phoenix’s personal early playoff exit. If Vogel finally ends up out there, the Lakers could be clever to go after him. Actually, such a pairing makes all of the sense on the planet.

Vogel received a championship with the Lakers in 2020. He was fired following the 2021-22 season for failing to make the Russell Westbrook experiment work, which should not actually be held towards him as a result of the Lakers traded Westbrook six months later so clearly it wasn’t all on Vogel. He would not do a lot to repair the offensive points going through the workforce proper now however he can positively form up their protection and get essentially the most out of Anthony Davis, which is essential for Los Angeles as LeBron enters his age-40 season. Plus, one has to think about LeBron would approve of bringing again the coach that helped him win a title. A reasonably good match, if Vogel does find yourself in want of a brand new job this offseason.

Phil Helpful

Helpful is an assistant on Ham’s workers proper now and was a well-liked title to step in as an interim head coach when the Lakers had been actually struggling earlier this 12 months. Obivously Ham stabilized issues and stored his job, however with every little thing up within the air as soon as extra, Helpful must be in consideration. He is been on the bench for Los Angeles since 2019 and has been a part of three championship groups in his profession.

Maybe most related is Helpful’s relationship with LeBron. He was an assistant on Ty Lue’s workers for the 2015-’16 championship and adopted the longer term Corridor of Famer to Los Angeles after his ultimate season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Helpful is unproven as a head coach, which is able to really feel dangerous to Los Angeles given Ham was the identical, however has been on the sidelines for almost 15 years now. Ought to the Lakers need to wager on a comparatively unproven commodity whereas protecting LeBron joyful within the purple and gold, Helpful is their man.

Kenny Atkinson

Atkinson interviewed for the Lakers job in 2022 earlier than it was finally given to Ham. It will make sense for Los Angeles to return to this explicit watering gap. Atkinson famously helped revived a destitute Brooklyn Nets workforce floundering within the wake of the Billy King commerce and obtained a lot approval for his skill to develop younger expertise. He finally clashed with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and resigned in March of 2020; the previous head coach has spent the final three seasons on Steve Kerr’s bench with the Golden State Warriors.

Atkinson simply checks a number of bins. He is acquired head teaching expertise and championship expertise as a member of the Warriors’ 2021-22 title workforce. His schematic acumen could be a welcome addition after two seasons of “give the ball to LeBron and get out of the best way.” If the Lakers hold this core collectively for an additional season or two, Atkinson can work with the expertise. If they should pivot to a youth motion, Atkinson is sweet for that, too. A powerful candidate ought to Ham be despatched on his method.