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Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham, I'm told, is a name to watch in the Pelicans' search. My former ESPN teammate Ian Begley reported this week that former UConn coach and Nets interim coach Kevin Ollie — long admired by Dumars' top aide Troy Weaver — is another potential candidate.
Darvin Ham: I'm forever grateful and thankful for, you know, the Buss family and even Rob Pelinka, man, just just choosing me to to try to navigate through that tough stretch that they were going to. That said, you know, like again, I'm in the facts, man, not feelings. And my time there, we did a lot of cleaning up. You know, the roster was imbalanced. It was a lot that was going on with our between our star players and just trying to figure weed through that, figure all that out. And we got to a place where we were able to make a deal, you know, that that that really spearheaded our run to the Western Conference Finals that year. And I thank all of those guys for playing hard, putting it on the line for me. Um, you know, again, that's the brightest light on on stage in in all of sports, let alone just the NBA. And so, uh, I thought I navigated it well. I had a principle where I would I never [ __ ] on my players, you know. I always try to protect my players in the media, you know.
What have you learned about the way the NBA is now that you now bring will bring to your next head coaching job? Darvin Ham: I just think the time and the patience um just keeping everybody on the same same page and like the togetherness forcing that will. You know, I inherited some players that had become accustomed to doing things the way they were used to doing them individually and but really making the team being really dead set on making the team understand the importance of togetherness. Um you know it's a lot of stuff we do once you you know this coach you you get started with this NBA season. We see each other more than we see our own families. And so, um, the more you can do inside the box and also outside the box, you know, it may be a day where guys thinking you're about to have a kick-ass practice and you take them to go play golf or go to Top Golf or go go play flag football. And we used to do that a lot.
"What was it like having Russ in that locker room with that group? And is it true what ESPN and those guys were saying, or can we clear the air here?" Darvin Ham: “Nah, Russ is one of the most professional guys I’ve ever been around. He keeps himself in shape — that’s why he’s still playing. I think this is his 18th season at the position he plays. He stays at a very high level in terms of conditioning and constantly works on his craft. All of his teammates — wherever he's played — always have nothing but the utmost respect and love for him. As a coach, we’re constantly trying to figure out how to extract the best possible results from our group. But once you walk out of that locker room, you no longer control how those individual players mesh.
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Darvin Ham: But in terms of Russ, man, you know, it was a difficult situation. Cause to get a player like that, you pretty much have to gut your team. And that's essentially what happened. In order to get Russ on the Lakers, they had to part ways with Alex Caruso. They had to part ways with KCP, Kyle Kuzma, a lot of other players they weren't able to get because the money wasn't there because now you have three essentially supermax players, right, on your roster. And you know, and and and then now you got to go after lower level players who, God bless, they can they're they're capable players, but to be elite to win a championship in our league, you have to be elite and have an elite group. And a lot of times the financial constrictions won't allow you to do so.
Darvin Ham: So you know I have no ill will with Rush. you know, I wish him nothing but the best. Um, I spent time with him once I got that job. He was at my press conference. Um, and you know, I love him what he stands for. Great family. Uh, and hopefully one day we'll be able to sit down again and just really chop it up man to man.
Darvin Ham: And the day we live in now, you know, everyone is not so much trying to, we used to say they're just trying to sell newspapers. Well, now everybody's trying to get clicks and views and unfortunately they don't have to wait till the next morning to see what was said. They can get right on their phone, their device and send out whatever be it credible or not. And so again, as we mentioned earlier in this interview, like that's that's a difficult thing to manage the whole social media aspect. So something someone can just pull something, you know, out of the air and throw it out there to the world and it gains steam because everyone sees it, they don't know if it's true, where it's coming from.
Dan Woike: Sad news: Wilmer Jones-Ham, the mother of former Lakers coach Darvin Ham and the first female mayor of their hometown, Saginaw, Mich., died last week. Services will be later this week and a scholarship fund has been started in her remembrance.
Asked if the game played a role in the signing, Thanasis admitted that it did: “For sure. They were here after the first game against Italy, and they were excited because I was playing defense. I was doing my job, that’s my role. The important thing is that everyone who returns (after such an injury) with a team, or in a tournament like this, has to prove themselves again. That’s basketball. Whatever you have done so far counts; it’s your resume, but you have to prove it every day. That’s professional sports”.
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Tas Melas: NBA front office executives or coaches I’ve seen at #EuroBasket: Bucks: Jon Horst, Doc Rivers, Darvin Ham. Lakers: Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Buss, Kurt Rambis. Trail Blazers: Chauncey Billups. Kings: BJ Armstrong, Doug Christie. Nuggets: Josh Kroenke.
Ham highlighted how Giannis emphasizes teamwork in the international setting. "He's trying to involve his teammates and allow his teammates to help him help them. It's more team oriented, more sets and all of that here is different. They don't play as fast as we do in the NBA, but in NBA, his usage rate is off the charts. He constantly has the ball in his hands, so a little bit different role for him over there."
Giannis Antetokounmpo took over for Greece on the way to a 75-66 victory versus Italy in the opener for both countries in EuroBasket 2025. Logging just over 29 minutes, the 30-year-old superstar finished with 31 points. He made 14/20 two-pointers and 3/4 free throws, alongside seven rebounds, two steals, and one assist. In addition to the Freak, the Milwaukee Bucks were represented in Spyros Kyprianou Arena by general manager Jon Horst, head coach Doc Rivers, and assistants Vin Baker and Darvin Ham.