- Austin Reaves says he had to buy LeBron James Xbox controller as one of his rookie duties on Lakers
- Tristan Thompson says he surprised LeBron James during Lakers workout: ‘I haven’t seen this since Cleveland’
- Draymond Green says the Lakers are a ‘serious threat’ in the Western Conference
- Report: Lakers downgrade D’Angelo Russell’s status for Friday’s matchup vs. Thunder
- Kendrick Perkins rips ‘borderline senior citizen’ Chris Paul for letting Austin Reaves drop 25 points on him
- Anthony Davis issues confident statement on Lakers playoff hopes: ‘You put anybody against us, I like our chances’
- Anthony Davis declares that he and LeBron James have ‘one of the best relationships’ among duos in the NBA
- Former teammate of Kobe and LeBron says Kobe was ‘like Mike’ while LeBron was more ‘happy-go-lucky’
- Report: LeBron James has resumed on-court activity for Lakers
- Monty Williams sounds off on free-throw disparity in Lakers-Suns game
Darvin Ham and Rob Pelinka have had multiple meetings with Russell Westbrook, imploring him to be defense-first player
- Updated: June 24, 2022
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka reportedly have had multiple meetings with guard Russell Westbrook to tell him he needs to be a defense-first player.
Westbrook, who has a player option for the 2022-23 season, struggled to fit in with the Lakers last season.
Rob Pelinka says he and Davin Ham have had multiple meetings with Russell Westbrook and have been honest about Russ' role on the team and that he needs to be a defense-first player. He says Westbrook has yet to make a final decision on his player option for the 2022-23 season.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) June 24, 2022
It appears that Ham and Pelinka are trying to find a way for Westbrook to still be a key contributor to the team if he decides to opt in and stay with the Lakers.
During the 2021-22 campaign, Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Westbrook struggled at times on the offensive end, as he and LeBron James are both ball-dominant players. Westbrook’s shooting struggles made it tough for him to play off the ball for Los Angeles.
If Westbrook can commit to being a stopper on the defensive end, the Lakers may be able to run it back with him, James and Anthony Davis in the 2022-23 season.
Los Angeles missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 campaign, but it wasn’t all due to Westbrook’s struggles. The Lakers also dealt with significant injury woes, as James and Davis both missed large chunks of the season.
Ham clearly is trying to establish a defense-first culture in his first season as the Lakers’ head coach. If he can get Westbrook to buy in, there’s a good chance Los Angeles leaps back into the playoff conversation this season.