"Darvin Ham would've done that job" - Stephen A. Smith takes subtle shot at Lakers' front office amid Dan Hurley rumors

The LA Lakers' hunt for a new head coach appears to be nearing an end as they are reportedly serious about pursuing UConn's Dan Hurley for the position. Should Hurley end up being hired, every NBA fan knows that the expectation for him would be to win immediately.

However, Stephen A. Smith shared with his co-hosts and the viewers of First Take who he thinks would be the best man to meet those expectations, and that man is Darvin Ham. Stephen A. reminded everyone that Ham coached the Lakers to a conference finals berth in 2023 and that they were simply unfortunate enough to run into the one team that was fully capable of beating them.

While Stephen A. believes that Hurley is a good head coach, he thinks that he won't be able to succeed in meeting the lofty expectations surrounding the LA-based franchise.

"The job that [Dan Hurley] would come there and do for the Los Angeles Lakers, I believe Darvin Ham would have done that job," Stephen A. said on First Take.

Currently, Dan Hurley is the top contender and is being considered over other finalists for the job. Those other finalists are analyst and podcast host JJ Redick and former Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego.

Hurley has no experience coaching in the NBA but he's been the head coach of the UConn Huskies men's basketball team since 2018.

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Darvin Ham's tenure with the LA Lakers was an up-and-down affair

Darvin Ham was the head coach of the Lakers for only two seasons, starting in 2022. He replaced Frank Vogel, who led the team to a title in his maiden season but was fired after failing to achieve that same success in the two following seasons.

In Ham's first year as a head coach (2022-23), he led the team to a 43-39 record, which was only good enough for a spot in the play-in tournament. Despite not being favored to make a deep playoff run due to their lack of success in the postseason, Ham coached LeBron James and company to a spot in the conference finals, where the eventual champions swept them.

Then, in his second year, the team struggled early on but bounced back by winning the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament. However, they failed to capitalize on that momentum and were once again only good enough for a play-in tournament spot.

Ham and his team made it into the playoffs but were bounced in five games by the same team that beat them in the 2023 playoffs.

Ham faced plenty of criticism throughout his tenure, especially in his second season. There were rumors throughout the year that the front office would terminate him but they ended up sticking with him until after the postseason.