Darvin Ham Will Have ‘Power’ to Make Controversial Move with Lakers Superstar

The Los Angeles Lakers hired a new head coach after the disappointing season. Darvin Ham will be super busy in 2022-23 and it seems like he will have the power to make decisions on one Lakers superstar.

Former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel benched Russell Westrbook in several games last season and yes, Ham will be able to do the same. The new head coach has great respect for the player and Westbrook even attended his introductory press conference. However, he won’t think twice before benching Russ.

“Based on the current roster, I project the closing lineup to look something like this: Davis, Toscano-Anderson, James, Brown and Reaves. I think Westbrook will often be in there, too, but it will depend on how he’s shooting, his decision-making and his defense. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham will have more power to bench Westbrook down the stretch of games, according to league sources,” Jovan Buha from The Athletic reported. “That could eventually extend to removing Westbrook from the starting lineup as well.”

Darvin Ham respects the Lakers superstar

Ham enters a challenging chapter in his career. He doesn’t have much experience as a head coach, but hey, he understands players and this will help him create a strong bond with the team. Ham knows that Westbrook is one of the better players in the NBA and admires his potential. Ham would never take this for granted.

“Don’t get it messed up. Russell Westbrook is one of the best players our league has ever seen and there’s still a ton left in the tank,” Ham said. “I don’t know why people tend to try to write him off. Russ and I had some really, really great one-on-one convos, man, and the biggest word I think that came out of that, those discussions, was sacrifice. I’m going to expect him to be the same tenacious, high-energy player that he’s been all his entire career. A lot of that now may have him without the ball in his hand. Most of it now may have it on the defensive end. But again, we have to sacrifice. There’s no achieving anything without all parties sharing the load, sacrificing, instead of one-on-one.”