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Darvin Ham exuded confidence after his hiring and in the offseason that he’s figured out what to do with Russell Westbrook. The new LA Lakers shot-caller staunchly defended Westbrook from endless criticism and said that he was excited to coach him.
Three games into the season, Ham is starting to find out just how difficult Frank Vogel’s old job was in appeasing "Mr. Triple-Double." Kendrick Perkins, on "NBA Today," played the “I-told-you-so” game and pointed out how Westbrook’s attitude is derailing the Lakers’ season:
“Russ’ behavior is becoming cancerous to the team. … You know what Darvin Ham said about people and their feelings? Because when Russell Westbrook was on the bench, he was moping, he was complaining, he was chirping, he was saying little things under his breath.
“What do you do now? You send him home until you find somebody that’s gonna trade for him.”
In the LA Lakers’ last preseason game against the Sacramento Kings, Ham demoted Russell Westbrook to the bench. Russ played only a few minutes as he complained of hamstring tightness, which healed by the time the season started.
Westbrook, who started against the Golden State Warriors, subtly sent a message to Ham that he didn’t want to come off the bench. The LA Lakers point guard explained how sitting on the bench at the start of the game against the Kings may have led to his hamstring tightness.
Darvin Ham relented and kept him in the lineup despite atrocious results. This season, he’s averaging 10.0 points, on 28.9% shooting from the field, and an atrocious 8.3% from 3-point distance.
In the Lakers’ recent loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Ham kept Westbrook sidelined for 11 minutes and the team played their best. Just as Russ came back in, the Lakers once again played out of sync, giving up a 16-6 run to the Blazers, who went on to win 106-104.
The lowlight of Westbrook’s terrible play was when went for a jumper with the Lakers leading by one with 27 seconds left in the game. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Patrick Beverley raised their hands in frustration at Westbrook’s shot selection with plenty of time left on the shot clock.
The LA Lakers should just ban Russell Westbrook from entering the team’s practice facility, according to Kendrick Perkins
For Kendrick Perkins, the Russell Westbrook situation has become so toxic and corrosive that the Lakers should just keep him away from the team. He said:
“You can’t continue to bring him into that locker room, bring him into that facility because his attitude is gonna wear on everybody, the coaching staff, his teammates and training staff. There’s no reason to try and make the relationship work. It’s gone!”
What the ESPN analyst is suggesting is not something new. Many of colleagues urged the LA Lakers to do the same even before the season started and find themselves vindicated now.
Sending Westbrook home may be too extreme for Ham to do at this point. However, he’s letting everyone know that he will not hesitate to bench the former MVP or any of his players if they can’t contribute. Following the defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers, Ham said:
“We don’t have time for people to be in their feelings.”
It’s early into the season and yet the Russell Westbrook situation already seems to be turning the LA Lakers, who are 0-3, into the biggest circus in the NBA.
Guess the Lakers players!
