Darvin Ham might not be “long for this world” in L.A.
If there is one thing former Bucks Head Coach Mike Budnholzer proved it was that he could really win a lot of regular season games. Budenholzer went 484-371 (.604%) in the regular season as the Head Coach for both Atlanta and Milwaukee. In just his Bucks tenure Budenholzer went 271-120 (closest to winning 70% of his regular season games) However Budenholzer-coached teams fared much worse in the playoffs with a 56-48 record, winning at just a 53% clip.
If there is another thing Budenholzer did well it was surround himself with good assistant coaches. Darvin Ham was one of his best.
There is, undoubtedly, a strong healthy relationship between Ham and Giannis and Khris and Lopez and all of the Bucks.
Bringing him back, assuming he gets fired, might add another “sane voice” in the room.
The Current Staff and Typical NBA Coaching Staff Make- Ups
This is a list of the current Milwaukee Bucks coaches:
Newly Added: Trevor Gleeson, Joe Prunty, Vin Baker, Nate Mitchell, Josh Oppenheimer, Patrick Mutombo, D.J. Bakker, Sidney Dobner, Scott Faust (Trainer).
For Milwaukee, their staff is a little on the “lite” end. It is one of the smaller staffs in the NBA.
Adrian Griffin acknowledged that in adding Trevor Gleeson last week, the former Head Coach of the Perth Wildcats in Australia’s NBL. Gleeson is thought of as another strong offensive-minded coach.
The Knicks and Heat have 5 listed assistant coaches according to the National Basketball Coaches Association. The Bucks now have 8. The Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76er’s have 10 assistant coaches. It seems like most NBA teams have 8 or 9. The Jazz, Clippers, Suns and Timberwolves all have 9.
We were in a little bit short-handed, one of the staffs with the least amount of coaches so we thought it would be beneficial to bring someone on. I worked with Trevor in Toronto, just had a lot of respect for him.
~ Espn Pool
Ham could just come aboard and start immediately. That, of course, assumes there are not “hang-ups” in his contract.
That is most likely why former Bucks Head Coach is enjoying a more “retired life”. He was under contract with the team through the season.
What do the rules say about an NBA bench?
According to NBA Rule #3, “The bench shall be occupied only by a league-approved head coach, a maximum of three assistant coaches, players and trainer. During an altercation, the head and assistant coaches are permitted on the court as ‘peacemakers.”
I really found it fascinating that you could really have as many or as few coaches as you’d like. (Kinda like learning that there is no ‘regulation’ professional soccer field. Soccer fields are not standardized and can be any size.)
Also, there continues to be some overall questions about the focus of the team and the direction of the coaching staff. Here is Pat Connaughton speaking about the slower start the team had.
Ham Can Coach
Darvin Ham is a good coach; he has experience with this team. If LA lets him go and if he can be a Buck again, the team and franchise would be well-served to sign him.
