Darvin Ham Among Candidates For Pelicans’ Head Coaching Job

Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham is reportedly among the top candidates for the New Orleans Pelicans’ head coaching job, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

“… Darvin Ham, I’m told, is a name to watch in the Pelicans’ search,” Stein wrote. “My former ESPN teammate Ian Begley reported this week that former UConn coach and Nets interim coach Kevin Ollie — long admired by [Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations] Joe Dumars’ top aide Troy Weaver — is another potential candidate.”

Darvin Ham Had A Winning Record As Lakers Head Coach

Ham, 52, returned to the Bucks as an assistant coach under Doc Rivers last June, a month after the Los Angeles Lakers fired the Michigan native as their head coach.

The Lakers parted ways with Ham following the team’s 2024 first-round series loss to the Denver Nuggets. Ham was 90-74 (.549) with a Western Conference finals berth, two play-in victories, and an in-season title.

“It’s been a hell of a two years … I’ll tell you that,” Ham said after L.A. was eliminated. “Sitting in this seat, it’s been a hell of a two years. A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize.”

Sunday Best around-the-league notes from courtside of Blazers-at-Mavs …

With a dispatch coming soon from @JakeLFischer once he’s done watching his Eagles …

Our coverage (Part I) of an eventful week in the NBA: https://t.co/loHKMvZuhV pic.twitter.com/3KMXjktv2P

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 17, 2025

Ham, who had two years remaining on his contract, became the first Lakers coach to make the playoffs and not return the following season since Phil Jackson in 2011.

Under Ham, the 2022-23 Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the play-in tournament to earn the No. 7 seed and went on to upset the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors in the second round before losing to the top-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.

Pelicans Fired Head Coach Willie Green Amid 2-10 Start

The Pelicans fired head coach Willie Green on Saturday after a 2-10 start to the season. New Orleans dropped its first six games and was not able to overcome injuries to multiple star players.

Zion Williamson has played just five games due to a hamstring injury, an ailment he has suffered in four straight seasons. The two-time All-Star was diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain on Nov. 4.

The Pelicans were the first team in NBA history to lose three of their first six games by at least 30 points, after allowing at least 120 points in five straight games to begin a season, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Green, who was in his fifth season as Pelicans coach, finished with a 150-190 (.441) record, including postseason appearances in 2021-22 and 2023-24. The team went 2-8 (.200) in the postseason during his tenure.

“It really wasn’t the won-lost record as the ultimate determining factor. That was not it,” Dumars said. “I was very clear from the very beginning, there was no mandate that you have to win a certain amount of games.

“There wasn’t even a mandate that, ‘Oh, you have to make the play-in or the playoffs.’ We have to establish who we’re going to be here in New Orleans going forward, and I just did not see that happening. And that was more than anything else what’s the determining factor here.”

Assistant James Borrego was named the interim coach for the Pelicans.