While the Lakers beat the Clippers, the biggest candidate to replace Darvin Ham revealed

Los Angeles Lakers recently beat the LA Clippers but things haven't been smooth between the locker room and coach Darvin Ham, and are still away from solving things, which has sparked rumors of the possible firing by the front office of the head coach.

The rumors started thanks to recent reports by NBA insiders Shams Charania and Jovan Buha on how the locker room is disconnected with coach Darvin Ham and how the seat has started to warm, despite not being close on the possibility of Jeanie Buss and GM Rob Pelinka thinking of firing him.

If the Lakers do make a change though then the question becomes who would replace Ham for the rest of the season and long term. It appears the favorite may be assistant coach Phil Handy, via Sam Amick of The Athletic:

The other factor here, as is always the case in situations like these, relates to a possible replacement. It was no surprise “Doc Rivers” was trending on social media channels in the hours after the Lakers story dropped, as the former Magic/Celtics/Clippers/Sixers coach and current ESPN analyst is currently available. When you talk to people closer to the situation, it’s Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy who is more often brought up as a possible pick. But again, we’re not there quite yet.

Jeanie Buss fired Frank Vogel but is supporting Darvin Ham

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss reportedly sent a supportive text message to the team’s head coach, Darvin Ham, in the wake of rumors surrounding his standing with the iconic franchise: "Unlike the [Frank] Vogel situation, where Buss was known to believe the former coach was largely to blame for the failed integration of Russell Westbrook and ultimately greenlighted his April 2022 firing as a result, all signs point to the Lakers’ most important decision-maker standing by the coach who is in the second year of a four-year deal,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote. “There’s a mutual respect in that relationship, one that resulted in Buss sending a lengthy text message of support to Ham in the wake of Thursday’s report in The Athletic that chronicled the rising pressure that surrounds him. Buss could certainly change her stance, of course, but the current state of affairs suggests Ham still has time to turn this around.”