"Didn’t want to pay Ty Lue": LA Lakers fans cry as coach faces heat, penny-pinching haunts them

Amid the LA Lakers’ recent struggles, Lakers coach Darvin Ham’s job could be in jeopardy. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Ham’s “seat warming has started,” leaving Lakers fans frustrated with their team’s failure to land a long-term, big-name coach.

Per Buha, the Lakers’ front office is in “championship or bust” mode and won’t tolerate a prolonged losing streak.

LA fell 110-96 to a shorthanded Miami Heat squad on Wednesday that was missing superstar forward Jimmy Butler. The loss marked the Lakers’ third straight and ninth in their last 12 games. It also dropped them below .500 (17-18) on the season.

Buha compared LA’s emergency level to a car, noting that “it’s a level one out of level three but could easily go to level two to three with another loss or two.” He added that while Ham’s seat has “started to warm,” it isn’t “hot” yet.

Nonetheless, Lakers fans still expressed their desire to see LA move on from Ham.

“Should be boiling by now,” one fan said.

“Warming? It should be in ashes already. They just lost to a Jimmy Butler-less Heat team,” another said.

Meanwhile, others called out the organization for its refusal to shell out big bucks for a top-tier coach like LA Clippers coach Ty Lue.

“Lakers didn’t want to pay Ty Lue,” one fan said.

Lue interviewed for the Lakers’ coaching opening back in 2019 but was ultimately offended by the team’s lowball three-year, $18 million offer. He later said that he wasn’t “treated fairly” during his interview process.

The Lakers have gone through two coaches since interviewing Lue (Frank Vogel and Ham) and now may be forced to hire a third.

On that note, here are a few more of the top fan reactions to Ham almost being on the hot seat:

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Darvin Ham experiencing disconnect with LA Lakers’ locker room

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the LA Lakers’ recent rough patch has led to a “disconnect” between Darvin Ham and LA’s locker room. Charania noted that the issues stem from “disjointedness” surrounding Ham’s “rotation and adjustments.”

Ham has been consistently trying out new rotations to try and turn LA’s season around. However, his lineups were ineffective against Miami on Wednesday, as only six Lakers players scored as the team was blown out at home.

Through 35 games, the Lakers rank just 24th in offensive rating (111.9), 28th in made 3s per game (10.7) and 24th in 3-point percentage (35.1%).

It’s debatable whether coaching is the reason for LA’s offensive struggles. However, there is just over one month left until the Feb. 8 trade deadline. So, regardless of whether they fire Ham, the Lakers will have to decide whether they need to make some moves to fortify their roster.

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