The exhibition season may have begun for the Los Angeles Lakers, but that doesn’t mean the Russell Westbrook trade rumors have ended.
It appears the Lakers will assess what they have for a time and then decide what to do. Of course, people will continue to speculate on Westbrook’s future and which team’s jersey he may be wearing months from now.
Head coach Darvin Ham has made it clear he is focused on the here and now and that the embattled guard has his support.
He made as much clear after the team’s first preseason game on Monday night.
“Russ is a Los Angeles Laker,” said Ham when asked if he has talked to Westbrook about the trade rumors he’s involved in. “I’m the coach. We talk about Laker business, more specifically, the business of basketball that we have together in terms of how we’re going to play and how he’s going to be effective in the system.
“Any outside noise, we don’t pay attention to it. It’s pretty difficult when you have smartphones and all that now these days, but at the end of the day, since I got the job, he’s been nothing but supportive. As with Bron and AD as well. So we just coach our team, our players listen to us. They’re trying to figure out this new system, both defensively and offensively. Any outside noise that’s par for the course. It comes with the business, but he’s a Los Angeles Laker the last time I checked, and I’m really not mad at that. And he showed tonight like, he’s going thrive in the system, and that’s about all I can say about that.”
Whether Westbrook remains coachable and committed to Ham’s vision for him, there may be a glimmer of hope as far as the Lakers are concerned. They possess better role players this season and their roster is much younger, which, by itself, should allow the team to play better defense and provide better support for Westbrook on the offensive end.
