Lakers Reveal Definitive Answer On Russell Westbrook Trade Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers flirted with the idea of trading Russell Westbrook for quite some time and the one-time NBA MVP didn’t mind hearing all the trade rumors in the last couple of months. LA lost the preseason opener to the Sacramento Kings, but Westbrook did a decent job in the game. Is Rob Pelinka still considering a trade?

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham really likes Westbrook and he was actually the one to put an end to rumors about his trade. Ham has always been a fan. He insists that Westbrook is a great guy and appreciates his dominance on the basketball court. Westbrook attended his introductory press conference, honoring his new head coach. So, Ham is now saying that Russ won’t go anywhere in the near future.

“Man, just he’s ours, and we love him and we want him to do well,” Ham said. “Like I said, I have a plan for him. That plan included him when they gave me the job. So it’s been a great camp for him. He’s played well. Energy has been through the roof. It’s been great. … It’s the nature of the beast, and we understand that. So what we do is try to block out all the noise and just try to focus on the work. And he’s a big part of what we’ve been doing, a big part of the work.”

Lakers Ham shuts down Russell Westbrook trade rumors after good performance

Westbrook couldn’t help the Lakers win, but his game was great. He played 15 minutes in the game, delivering five minutes, two rebounds, three assists in the game. Ham believes that Westbrook will do even better in the next period. He trusts his skill set. This performance will probably secure his future in LA. Pelinka may actually give up on the idea of trading Westbrook for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.

“Russ is a Los Angeles Laker,” Ham said after the game. “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, 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 smart phones and all that now these days but at the end of the day, since I got the job, he’s been nothing but supportive.