LA Lakers News Roundup: Darvin Ham will push to get Westbrook playing championship-level defense, Shaquille O’Neal questions 8-time All-Star’s power and more | 7th May 2022

The LA Lakers’ plan to get the most out of Russell Westbrook will apparently start on the defensive end. New head coach Darvin Ham will be pushing the former MVP to return to championship level on the gritty side of the ball.

Shaquille O'Neal doesn’t think Anthony Davis and Westbrook can fill up arenas if the LA Lakers decide to trade LeBron James. Shaq favors his former team to ride James until the wheels fall off.

After a thorough search that took more than a month, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka eventually named Darvin Ham as Frank Vogel’s replacement. Pelinka called Ham’s hiring “unanimous.”

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Defense will be Russell Westbrook’s first step to redeeming himself

Russell Westbrook will be a tone-setter on defense if Darvin Ham gets his way. [Photo: Sports Illustrated]

For most of last season, Russell Westbrook was ripped on several occasions by basketball analysts and fans for his lack of effort on defense. He has been caught napping in rotations and sometimes walking to get back on defense.

That may have to change if new head coach Darvin Ham gets his way.

"We talked in our conversations, the biggest word we used was sacrifice. I want him to go back to being a pit bull on the defensive end and everything else is gonna flow from there... I want him to set the tone defensively for our team."

Westbrook’s been known to be notoriously passive on defense if his offense isn’t clicking. How Ham can scheme for Westbrook on offense when the team’s play will still revolve around LeBron James will be interesting to see.

The former NBA journeyman is reputed to be a good communicator. Maybe he’ll turn out to be the Russell Westbrook whisperer or he could also end up with Frank Vogel’s impossible problem to solve.

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The LA Lakers will have to keep LeBron James to fill up arenas

Entering his 20th season, LeBron James remains the LA Lakers' biggest draw. [Photo: Sporting News]

LeBron James will reportedly play out the last year of his contract next season as he makes a few very crucial decisions in his career. If he goes that route, the LA Lakers risk losing the four-time MVP without getting anything in return.

Team owner Jeanie Buss has promised to keep the four-time champion in the Lakers’ camp regardless of what happens in the contract negotiations. According to Shaquille O’Neal on his podcast, keeping the GOAT candidate could be the best option for a few reasons.

Foremost among the reasons is LeBron James’ unquestioned drawing power:

“If you got two ticket fillers, you get rid of the most valuable. Cause we still got one guy that can fill the arena up. You get rid of LeBron, who's gonna fill that building up? Does AD have enough star power to fill that building up? Or you keep him and ride him till the wheels fall off.”

Shaq also contended that Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook combined will only fill up arenas on a few days. Keeping LeBron James with the LA Lakers is both a sound business and a title-contending venture.

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LA Lakers GM Rob Pelinka reveals “unanimous” choice of Darvin Ham as the team’s new head coach

GM Rob Pelinka introduces Darvin Ham as the Lakers' new head coach. [Photo: Detroit News]

Most pundits consider Darvin Ham's hiring the right move for the LA Lakers, who are looking to bounce back from a disastrous season. Reports surfaced that GM Rob Pelinka and the front office were blown away with everything the former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach had to offer.

The LA Lakers wanted a head coach who knew how to deal with the egos and personalities of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. James and Westbrook have already publicly supported the move, giving Ham much-needed support from his superstars.

Here's what Pelinka had to say after Darvin Ham was introduced as the Lakers’ new head coach:

“Darvin immediately stood out as someone that met so many of the qualities we were looking for. Strong voice, a willingness to have difficult conversations with players, and hold them accountable to playing hard…Darvin Ham represents those things…Ham was the unanimous choice.”

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