Darvin Ham has been officially announced as the new Los Angeles Lakers head coach. After Frank Vogel’s departure from the team, the Purple and Gold started looking for a new head coach, and their candidate was in Milwaukee, helping Mike Budenholzer and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Even though rumors suggest that Juwan Howard was the preferred candidate for the job, the Lakers are happy with Ham and can’t wait to see what he’ll do with the team. In fact, they trust him to turn things around and make the LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook trio work in Los Angeles.
While LeBron James already showed his excitement to have Ham as his new head coach, it doesn’t seem like everybody is as excited as the King. Russell Westbrook recently reacted to the news with a cold post on Instagram, where he simply reshared the original post without adding anything. Not a word, not an emoji. Nothing.
Westbrook didn’t have the best season in Los Angeles. After landing like the biggest move of the offseason, the former NBA MVP had a complex relationship with fans asking more from him. He mentioned that the coach didn’t use him the right way, and that affected his game, as well as injuries from other key players.
Well, the Lakers are now working to get things back on track, and it looks like Westbrook will be crucial for that. The point guard will have a big challenge this next season, and they all hope that Ham can help him recover the level he used to have.
This team was constructed to win a championship, and they didn’t even make it to the playoffs. They will have another shot, but it doesn’t seem like they’ll have more chances to fix a disastrous season.
