Darvin Ham, Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka are at a critical crossroads

For the first time in his Lakers tenure, he's faced adversity he created. How Darvin Ham has faced that tumult has left a lot to be desired -- internally and externally.

When this piece hits your inbox, the Lakers will be hours from yet another game against the Clippers in that stupid Battle for L.A. little brother can’t win. This time, though, the game might actually have some stakes attached.

Per sources, this still won’t be considered a win-or-go-home game for Darvin Ham, but if the Lakers are not competitive and suffer an(other) embarrassing loss, there will be no choice for Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss but to take a serious look at Ham and whether he is capable of turning this around.

What that means and what a timeline would even look like is still unclear, but this is easily the most pressure Ham has dealt with in his still very young Lakers tenure.