head coach Darvin Ham after winning just three games since NBA In-Season Tournament triumph less than one month ago

As the Lakers’ losing streak reaches a new low, there is allegedly growing distance between the head coach Darvin Ham and the locker room.

The Lakers, who were 10th in the Western Conference after winning the NBA’s first-ever In-Season Tournament on December 9, have significantly underachieved since then. They have dropped nine of their last 12 games.

Concerns about the relationship between Ham and his players surfaced within the organization after Wednesday night’s 110-96 loss to the Miami Heat, who were missing star Jimmy Butler.

According to a source from The Athletic, Ham’s extensive rotation and shifting lineups have caused a rift between the head coach and LeBron James and company.

Ham started his team for the tenth time this season, and his third in three games, on Wednesday in an attempt to end the team’s losing run, but LA lost to the Heat for the third time in a row instead.

It is reported that once worries about the trend of lineup changes started to surface, the loss intensified the strain already present in the Lakers locker room.

There were also concerns within the organization when Ham decided to play James, Prince, Reddish, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Davis with a lineup without a second guard ballhandler against the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 23 and bench D’Angelo Russell.