Lakers Banking on Darvin Ham Fixing Russell Westbrook

Darvin Ham will have a lot on his plate next season.

The Lakers are putting all of their faith into the newest head coach, Darvin Ham. After the 2021-22 season ended, the front office immediately got to work on how to get this team back to playoff contention. One big concern that most are thinking about, is what is going to happen to Russell Westbrook? Is he going to stay in LA or will he be traded? 

That is still an unknown, but Jovan Buha from the Athletic went on "The Forum Club" podcast and discussed what LA expects from Ham in regards to Westbrook. 

"I think everyone knows they kind of have to trade Russell Westbrook, that is partially why they are now entertaining keeping him. I do think, from what I’ve heard, there’s a segment within the franchise that does believe Russ could be utilized better, that this could work that they could, you know, with the right head coach with the right supporting cast, they can figure that out."

The Lakers have two options in front of them. Trade Russell Westbrook and deal with the consequences or keep him and hope that the new leadership helps shape the team to work together better. However, either one of those options does not look great for LA. 

No matter what happens, Ham will have to deal with it and find a way to make things work. The Lakers lacked consistency this last season and if Ham can offer that, there could be some positive change for LA. Overall, Ham will need to take this time over the offseason to really decide how he wants to guide his team.