The Los Angeles Lakers have a lot to figure out next season after a terrible campaign last year. As things stand now, they will have Russell Westbrook on the roster on opening night, meaning that they’ll have to work things out with the veteran point guard on the roster.
Darvin Ham was appointed as the new Lakers head coach a couple of weeks ago, and now he’s ready to turn things around in LA and hasn’t stopped making it clear he wants to make the team work as great as possible. Even if that means having Russ on the court, Ham is confident he can get things done.
Upon his arrival to the Lakers, the former Milwaukee Bucks assistant talked about the plans he had for Westbrook, claiming that he wants the former MVP to succeed again with his system. He has said nothing but good things about Russ, but recently, it looked like the energy shifted for the rookie head coach.
During a recent appearance on SHOWTIME’s All the Smoke, Ham talked about his expectations for next season, seemingly calling out Russell Westbrook or anybody who doesn’t feel good to be with the Lakers.
“Competing at a high level. We’re going to be together. The most together team always does well, always wins at the end of the day,” Ham stated. “And accountability. We’re going to be tough. We’re going to be defensive-minded. That’s the side of the ball where you’re going to see the quickest and most drastic improvement and we’re going to share offensively.
“Again, we want everybody all in on what we’re doing. We don’t want anybody that’s second-guessing being a Laker or ‘Am I in the right place?’ or this, that and the third.”
Of course, this could also be aimed at another player, like LeBron James, who recently complained about people on his team and the mentality some have when it comes to winning. Ham is apparently paying attention to everything, and he won’t hesitate to call out people who don’t have the energy he’s looking for.
He seems pretty confident entering the 2022/23 NBA season, unlike anybody else within the organization. Perhaps Ham’s enthusiasm is what the Lakers need right now to be successful and turn things around after two seasons of being a bad team.
