The Los Angeles Lakers seem to finally have an idea of what they’re doing from a roster and coaching standpoint. JJ Redick has been impressive as a head coach and even got a contract extension after his first season. Luka Doncic is playing like an MVP candidate, and he’s signed for the long haul.
The franchise has come a long way since the days of Darvin Ham and Russell Westbrook. The Lakers were a sinking ship during that stretch. From Ham’s perspective, he was given a bit of a raw deal with the Westbrook trade.
He doesn’t believe that the Lakers took the proper steps to build around Westbrook, and he doesn’t think the former MVP is very versatile with how you can build around him.
“But in terms of Russ, man, you know, it was a difficult situation,” Ham said on “The Hoop Genius Podcast.” “Cause to get a player like that, you pretty much have to gut your team. And that’s essentially what happened. In order to get Russ on the Lakers, they had to part ways with Alex Caruso. They had to part ways with KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope], Kyle Kuzma, a lot of other players they weren’t able to get because the money wasn’t there because now you have three essentially supermax players on your roster.
“And now you got to go after lower-level players who, God bless, they’re capable players, but to be elite to win a championship in our league, you have to be elite and have an elite group. And a lot of times the financial constrictions won’t allow you to do so.”
Westbrook Was Never Going to Work With Lakers
While Ham isn’t outright calling Westbrook out, it’s clear that he didn’t think the Lakers made a smart move by trading for him. Even at the time, many couldn’t understand what the team was doing.
Westbrook made no sense as a fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which was obvious almost immediately. It didn’t help that Ham was a bit in over his head as the head coach.
Ham Does Praise Westrbook’s Professionalism
Westbrook doesn’t seem to have positive feelings toward the Lakers franchise, but the fact of the matter is that he didn’t play well. Even though things were ugly from the get-go on the Lakers, Ham thought that Westbrook showed a high level of professionalism during his stint with the team.
“Russ is one of the most professional guys I’ve ever been around,” Ham said. “He keeps himself in shape—that’s why he’s still playing. I think this is his 18th season at the position he plays. He stays at a very high level in terms of conditioning and constantly works on his craft.
“All of his teammates—wherever he’s played—always have nothing but the utmost respect and love for him. As a coach, we’re constantly trying to figure out how to extract the best possible results from our group. But once you walk out of that locker room, you no longer control how those individual players mesh.”
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