Brooklyn Nets: 3 Under the Radar Head Coaching Candidates

Darvin Ham

Whenever a team is as dominant as the Milwaukee Bucks were this year, it’s usually a guarantee that the top assistant gets an opportunity as a head coach somewhere around the league. The Bucks saw this last year when touted assistant Taylor Jenkins became the top man for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Darvin Ham, now the top assistant in Milwaukee, should see similar interest this offseason from multiple teams, with the Nets being one of them.

Ham played professionally for over a decade, culminating in a championship with the 2004 Detroit Pistons.

He first got into coaching back in 2008, before getting hired as a player development coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011. From there, he became a mainstay with current Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer as an assistant in Atlanta, where he spent five years. He then followed the former 2-time Coach of the Year to Milwaukee for the last couple of seasons.

With all this experience, it is only a matter of time until Ham gets his shot as an NBA head coach. He’s dealt with superstars like Kobe Bryant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, making him a viable option to coach big names like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Ham is also a former NBA champion as a player, understanding the amount of dedication and effort it takes to be great.

On top of this, look at the teams he’s coached recently. His staff helped lead the Bucks to their best record since the early ’70s. This season, the team was on pace to reach 70 wins before the season was cut short.

Even in Atlanta, Ham was a part of their 60 win season back in 2015 where the biggest name was Paul Millsap.

So, while there may be guys with more experience that the Nets consider for the job, Ham could be a dark horse that could work wonders for Brooklyn.