The Los Angeles Lakers saved their season when they traded Russell Westbrook and a pick for a package that brought them D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said that the locker room has become fun after the acquisitions the team made, taking a subtle shot at Westbrook after his ‘just have fun’ comments.
“We said it at the outset of the season. We want to be competitive together and accountable. Now that we made the acquisitions that we’ve made. Everybody is having fun in the locker room, competing their behinds off, pulling in the same direction. They really enjoy playing with each other and I think it really comes through in our play.”.
"Now that we made the acquisitions that we've made. Everybody is having fun in the locker room, competing their behinds off, pulling in the same direction. They really enjoy playing with each other."
Darvin Ham on the Lakers turnaround this seasonpic.twitter.com/ztSuAwtlVC
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 13, 2023
With other Lakers like Anthony Davis also harping on about the ‘fun’, the Lakers are having now, it’s clear that the presence of someone made the team decidedly un-fun in the locker room. Maybe there was truth to the reports that Westbrook was a vampire in the Lakers locker room, as this team looks re-energized since he left.
Are The Lakers Happy That Westbrook Is Gone?
The Lakers are definitely overjoyed at the players that are on their roster now, given the pieces they received in the trade to send Westbrook to Utah. Even if the trade didn’t end up giving the Lakers the complementary stars they want, the team probably would have been happy to end the Russell Westbrook experiment for whatever they could find on the market.
The team looked disengaged and deflated on the court towards the end of January, with literally no player looking to make winning plays for the franchise. Now, the players are fighting their hearts out and could go .500 for the first time this season with a win over the New York Knicks.
LeBron James finally loves the team he’s on, as they’re winning games without him on the floor, something fans couldn’t have even dreamt of when Westbrook was here. It’s more fun for everyone, including Russ, who’s playing with a former teammate in Paul George with the Clippers now.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
