Over the last few weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers have been very focused on making their current Big 3 of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook make it work. The reason for that is the fact that the current rumors suggest their target, Kyrie Irving, might not leave the Brooklyn Nets after all.
But in order for this system to work, all three players need to make some adjustments. While AD and Bron have already proved that they can do so and work together, the huge question remains: can Russ do it?
If there is someone who believes a lot in Brodie, it’s none other than the new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. Ham has had nothing but praise for the former NBA MVP since he joined the team. He recently once again backed Russ by saying everyone tries to dump all the issues on Westbrook when that’s not always the case.
It still doesn’t mean that Brodie can make the required adjustments to his game. Lakers insider Jovan Buha confirmed those doubts in a recent episode of The Athletic NBA Show podcast.
(Starts at 26:28)
“What Darvin Ham has been preaching is almost like Jrue Holiday type of role in Milwaukee. Where he is like, we want Russ to be our point of attack guy, on the ball, bulldog, like leading the defense. And then offensively kind of like figuring out ways to play around LeBron and AD. Russ has never done that, not since his early OKC days. Two important things. One, Russ promised LeBron and AD, they had multiple of those conversations last offseason like before they agreed to trade for Russ. … Russ made certain promises to LeBron and AD that did not come in fruition.
Buha made it extremely clear that this is not the first time that Russ, AD, and LeBron have vowed to make it work. In fact, had Russ not agreed to those conditions, he might have never even joined the Lakers.
Now, a year down the line, the trio is once again at that point. Whether the Lakers want it or not, it seems obvious that they are starting their 2022-23 season with Russell Westbrook on the roster. Hopefully, this time around, they can make it work and lead the team to an NBA Championship.
