NBA News: Bucks coach Doc Rivers criticizes the Lakers’ decision to hire Ham, JJ Redick’s predecessor

The preparatory game on Thursday between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers had more than just action on the field, with a fascinating backstory surrounding the coaching staff. Doc Rivers took the opportunity to comment on the Lakers’ shot attempt Darvin Hamwhich was later replaced by JJ Redick.

Hamnow Rivers’ top assistant with the Bucks, served as the Lakers’ head coach from 2022 to 2024. Rivers addressed the situation: “I won’t go into the whole thing that happened there, but he led a team to a Western final and then won the in-season tournament the next year … and then he got fired. It literally makes no sense“,” Rivers made it clear that he believed Ham deserved better treatment from the Lakers.

Rivers continued to praise Ham’s contributions: “First of all, he’s been here longer than me. He knows things I didn’t know. He has relationships with the players. Another guy you can trust. Trust is so important for players.” He emphasized, “Darvin Ham is a coach, he should be on the sidelines and I wanted him by my side.”

Ham reflects on his time with the Lakers

Despite the circumstances, Darvin Ham remains proud of his tenure with the Lakers. Reflecting on his time there, Ham said: “The state of the team from the time they hired me to the day they fired me, I think it has improved. And that’s all I care about.”

And highlighted the progress made under his leadership: “I put my heart and soul into this team and tried to improve it from where it was at 33-49. And in order to reach the Western Conference finals in a year, the boys have to benefit financially.”

Rivers and Redick’s History

Another aspect of Thursday’s clash between the Bucks and Lakers was the past tension between Doc Rivers and JJ Redick. The two have a history, as Redick played under Rivers for four seasons Los Angeles Clippers.

Redick had criticized Rivers during his time as an ESPN analyst and criticized Rivers for making excuses for poor results. “The trend is always to find excuses. Doc, we get it, taking over a team in the middle of a season is hard… But it’s always an excuse. It always puts pressure on your team… There’s never any accountability with this guy.”

But now in his role as head coach of the Lakers, Redick softened his stance: “I regret my tone in this case. I owned that and I regret my tone.” He further clarified: “I don’t have beef with people. And I’m not going to go into the history of Doc and I’s relationship. And I probably never will. In my opinion he’s fine.”