After the pursuit of Kyrie Irving ended in failure, it seems that the Los Angeles Lakers have made peace with the return of Russell Westbrook, who is set to play out the final year of his deal with the Purple and Gold.
But even with all the new additions, making things work on the court is not going to be an easy task for Ham and the Lakers. The hardest part of all will be incorporating Westbrook, who continues to be a point of focus for the new coaching staff.
Yet I am also hearing that, if no trade involving Westbrook materializes and if he is on the roster when the Lakers start practicing on Sept. 27, new Lakers coach Darvin Ham remains determined to carve out a real role for Westbrook. Sources say that the Lakers, to date, have strongly resisted the idea of shelving Westbrook completely until they can find a trade for him like the Rockets tried last season with John Wall — even after trading for longtime Westbrook adversary Patrick Beverley. Westbrook, who turns 34 in November, appeared in 78 of the Lakers’ 82 games last season.
If you followed social media this week, you surely saw that the Lakers’ messaging that Westbrook is in their plans is increasing in frequency even post-Beverley trade, suggesting that the club is bracing for the status quo as a highly anticipated Media Day in both L.A. and Brooklyn draws near on Sept. 26. There was an unexpected LeBron James tweet touting that a bounce-back season for Westbrook is looming, followed by a tweet from the Lakers’ official account highlighting his offseason preparations alongside various teammates.
The Lakers sacrificed a lot to acquire Westbrook, and they aren’t ready to just give up on him after one bad season. While most of the fans and experts have already turned on him, there is still a sense that better days could be ahead for him if he and the Lakers figure out how to best utilize his game.
Needless to say, the responsibility ultimately falls on Ham to make use of Russ’ skill set and figure out how to make each player fit with the other.
It’s a good sign that Ham is committed to bringing out Westbrook’s best instead of shelving him early on.
