Darvin Ham’s seat was hot from the moment he touched down in Los Angeles to become the next Lakers head coach.
Or next scapegoat, depending on how one looks at it.
It’s never as simple as being eliminated in the first round a year after making an improbable run to the conference finals, never as simple as the expectations that come with coaching two generational players — each with their own particular sets of needs that complicates matters severely.
It’s never simple with the Lakers, never simple with LeBron James, who wielded his own leverage moments after the Lakers were eliminated Monday night by the defending champion Denver Nuggets.