During his formal presentation as Los Angeles Lakers new head coach, Darvin Ham has suggested that he intends to keep Russell Westbrook for the next season. He spoke about a wide range of issues during the press conference, including how to effectively use the point guard.
Even though Rob Pelinka and the franchise took their time, they may now make roster selections now that Ham has been formally confirmed as the team’s new head coach. For example, the uncertainty surrounding Westbrook’s long-term plans has dominated the news for weeks.
Not to add that the 33-year-old veteran had one of his worst campaigns to date. In comparison to the remainder of his career, he played just 27.2 percent of the time, averaging only 34.3 minutes per game. Ham, however, seemed unfazed by the figures.
What Ham said about Westbrook
“I want him to feel loved, I want him to feel comfortable. You gonna bring him off the bench you gonna do this, no none of that stuff matters… I need him to set the tone defensively… He said he’s willing to do that. He’s made it his own personal mission to be better defensively.
“Don’t get it messed up. Russell is one of the best players our league has ever seen,” Ham said. “He still has a ton left in that tank. I don’t know why people tend to write him off. I’m going to approach him like every player I’ve ever encountered. We’re going to talk about our running habits with the ball, without the ball.
“But again, the team, the rhythm of the team, and trying to establish the rhythm with LeBron, Russ, AD. Again, share the load defensively and offensively. Defensively is where you’re going to see us make our biggest leaps and bounds. We have to commit to the defensive side of the ball or we don’t have a chance to do anything. The offense won’t even matter if we don’t get stops.”
