Russell Westbrook watched from one side of the makeshift stage at the El Segundo training facility, where new Lakers coach Darvin Ham had just been introduced Monday.
The search is over and the Los Angeles club is betting on a coach who has not yet been tested in terms of leading a team in the NBA, but with the necessary character to deal with the personalities of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook.
Ham was an assistant coach in the last Milwaukee Bucks championship in 2021, and as a player he won a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, the year they beat the Lakers super team in the Finals.
Last season, players blamed former coach Frank Vogel for not knowing what to do with Westbrook and setting up plays that didn’t pan out. Vogel blamed the lack of sacrifice of his players when defending and reminded them of the title they achieved in 2020 in the Orlando bubble.
The Lakers board had to make a decision: continue to believe in Vogel or in the potential of his players. Vogel was fired and was unable to finish his contract after being extended for the 2022-23 season.
“Make no mistake, Russell is one of the best players our league has ever had,” Ham told the media in attendance. “You still have a ton left in that tank. I don’t know why people keep trying to write it off.”
Westbrook had perhaps his worst season as a player, but not statistically on a personal level, but while he was on the court, the overall production and team chemistry with him was not good.
Westbrook is known for having an attitude that exudes arrogance, but he explained on numerous occasions that it is a defensive reaction when he feels attacked.
James will be the biggest unknown for Ham to figure out. The Lakers superstar had a falling out with Vogel, in particular over not knowing how to use Westbrook and company to accompany his game.
Vogel wasn’t a big part of deciding most of the players the Lakers got prior to last season and that had James’ stamp on them.
For Ham, his biggest challenge will be connecting all aspects of his players on the pitch, finding the chemistry that was lost after 2020.
“It’s important to me to have everyone connected,” Ham said. “You hear about these offensive gurus or these defensive gurus, both sides of the ball affect each other. If you can put together a great defense, then your offense will look great because you’re not playing against an established defense. If he’s letting people score, then his offense is going to struggle because he’s playing against an established defense.”
In his mind, Ham hopes to develop a culture of support and responsibility among the players. Plus, with a 38-year-old James, Ham will have to focus his attention on Davis as well as Westbrook, whom the Lakers once saw as the one to carry the team after James.
The workload has typically been heavier on James, so he said expect a bigger contribution from Westbrook and Davis to even the balance.
“It’s about how they will compete together and that starts with the defense and from there we build for the attack,” the coach detailed. “The style of play that I want to use is going to help everyone. My goal is to develop the talent of young people and make them feel comfortable without thinking that they have to get into a telephone box and wear a cape to save the day.”
Ham was clear that his intention is to hold not only the rest of the team responsible, but the star trident.
“Facts about feelings, if we watch the video and you realize you failed your assignment, then it has to be pointed out and if I can’t do that to our big three, the last man in the rotation or anyone else, they’re not going to take us on. I laughed”.
This will be his first real litmus test for Ham, as he will be the decision maker for the entire team. He is confident that his experience has allowed him to say he is ready for this challenge of managing the Lakers.
“My game didn’t contain the surprising plays, the unseen passes, so I was just a blue-collar contributor on various teams from high school to pro,” the coach said. “I think it prepares you and creates a certain kind of mindset where you can’t take short cuts in terms of understanding the details when you watch video of the games to analyze them.”
The response from the players to Ham’s arrival has been positive and that is something he will need to take advantage of in order to sell his ideas to the players, particularly James, who apparently had another manager in mind.
Getting Westbrook back will be one of his most important missions, as will protecting Davis, who has seen little action in his last two years due to injuries.
Without many major changes to their payroll, the Lakers are banking on a coach who will make his debut on the coaching bench as boss, but the real question is whether the players are betting on him.
