The Los Angeles Lakers failed miserably to achieve the championship-level heights that many envisioned for them last season.
A big reason for the team’s woes was the play of offseason acquisition, Russell Westbrook. He struggled both on and off the court with his awful play, strange behavior and general poor attitude — leading to loads of speculation regarding his future with the franchise.
This past week, L.A. went out and hired Darvin Ham as the team’s new head coach.
The directive that he received from the office paints a telling picture about what lays ahead with Westbrook.
“One of Ham’s most important directives: finding a way to incorporate future Hall of Fame guard Russell Westbrook into the franchise’s framework with LeBron James and Anthony Davis,” reported ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. “It was a significant subject of every Lakers coaching interview in the process, sources said.”
There are currently four teams who are willing to take Westbrook off the Lakers’ hands – but at a steep price. Clearly the front office doesn’t want to pay that, hence them trying to figure out a way to salvage Westbrook.
Doing that is easier said than done, though.
Not only has Westbrook been an unmitigated disaster in just about every way, but retaining him will also ensure that L.A. will be unable to get any of the three players on their offseason wish list.
Alex Rodriguez’s girlfriend caused a stir yesterday.https://t.co/YuZOJ0tHn4
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 30, 2022
Trotting out the same team in 2022-23 that failed them in 2021-22 is not exactly a plan for success.
Will the Lakers be able to free themselves of the albatross that is Westbrook at some point between now and next season?
Time will tell.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
