LeBron James already knows who will be the Lakers’ coach next year: Will it cause him to leave LA?

The Lakers could make a franchise-altering decision this summer

Lapresse 

The future of Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has been the subject of considerable speculation — almost since the franchise hired him to replace Frank Vogel in June 2022. Ham guided the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last season and the inaugural NBA Cup this season, but LA‘s inconsistency over the past two years on the whole has proven frustrating to their millions of followers around the globe.

Ham’s relationship with superstar LeBron James has not been entirely smooth, either. The King has been seen “checked out” during timeouts while Ham is speaking, and the possibility that the Lakers could retain the second-year head coach for another season could cause James to consider his future in southern California.

LeBron James let a reporter know he did not like his question about the Denver NuggetsDarvin destined for a third season in LA?

According to Lakers insider Anthony Irwin, Ham is poised to return for the 2024/25 season, irrespective of the result between the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, who are currently playing a first-round series in the West playoffs.

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The second-seeded Nuggets took Game 1 over the seventh-seeded Lakers on Saturday night, overcoming a halftime deficit to win 114-103 at Ball Arena. Ham was heavily criticized following the game for the Lakers’ continued inability to slow down Nikola Jokic, who scored a game-high 32 points while adding 12 rebounds and seven assists.

James was frustrated after Game 1 and chided his teammates for not paying attention to the details against the defending champion Nuggets. That message could easily have been meant for his coaching staff, too, which has not yet concocted a successful game plan to defeat Denver — the winner of nine consecutive meetings with Los Angeles. The Lakers’ season could be on the verge of ending with another loss Monday night — giving James, who can opt out of his contract this summer, plenty to think about as he contemplates his next move.