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Lakers Notes: Davis, Wallace, Ham, Draft, Westbrook

June 7th, 2022 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to the media on Monday for the first time since being named the Lakers‘ head coach, Darvin Ham didn’t undersell Anthony Davis‘ importance to the franchise moving forward, as Jovan Buha of The Athletic relays.

“I think he’s the key,” Ham said of Davis. “We’ve all seen what can happen when he’s healthy and playing at a high level and in rhythm. We saw it in the bubble. His skill set, his size, his versatility, his defensive acumen, his relentlessness, his ability to give multiple efforts defensively is key. It’s going to be the foundation of the type of standard we set in the ‘Darvin Ham era.’ It’s going to be built on that defense and he’s going to be the main piece, the centerpiece of it.

“LeBron (James) is always going to be great; LeBron is going to be LeBron. Russ (Westbrook) is going to be Russ. But we need consistency out of Anthony Davis. We need him to be healthy, we need him to be in a good mental space. And we need him to be as consistent as possible, like we’re playing that championship-type level of basketball. And we’re going to do everything in our power to support him.”

Davis has been limited to just 76 games across the last two seasons due to injuries, but has played at his usual All-Star level when healthy, averaging 22.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.0 BPG in those 76 appearances.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Addressing the rumor that his former Pistons teammate Rasheed Wallace will join the Lakers’ staff as an assistant, Ham referred to is a “fluid” situation, according to Buha. “He’s definitely a candidate that we’ll take a look at, but we’re working through that,” Ham said, confirming that no formal agreement is in place yet.
In a column for The Los Angeles Times, Dylan Hernandez argues that the Lakers’ leaders – including Ham and VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka – are lowering expectations for the offseason moves they can make and shifting the responsibility for next season’s success from the front office to the players.
Pelinka has interest in buying a second-round pick in this month’s draft, he told Mike Bresnahan during a Spectrum SportsNet interview (Twitter link via Marc Stein). The Lakers still have about $4.44MM available to send out in trades before the 2022/23 league year begins, as our cash tracker shows.
Although Ham said all the right things about Russell Westbrook during his introductory press conference on Monday, it remains to be seen whether he’ll have more luck than Frank Vogel did getting the former MVP to fully buy in to his message, Bill Oram writes for The Athletic.
In case you missed it, at least three Lakers assistant coaches – including David Fizdale – won’t be retained for 2022/23, but Phil Handy will be back. Here’s our full story.

Darvin Ham: Westbrook Has “Ton Left In The Tank”

June 6th, 2022 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Lakers coach Darvin Ham believes Russell Westbrook has a “ton left in the tank” but will have to make sacrifices to help the franchise return to a championship level, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.

Ham made those comments on Monday during his introductory press conference, which Westbrook attended.

“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.”

Westbrook took the brunt of criticism, along with former coach Frank Vogel, for the Lakers’ wayward season. He has a $47.5MM option on the last year of his contract and is expected to exercise it.

The Lakers reportedly asked head coaching candidates how they could maximize Westbrook’s talents in L.A. Ham believes Westbrook will have to do more without the ball and step up his defensive effort.

“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,” Ham said. “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 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.”

Here’s more from Ham’s presser, as relayed by McMenamin and the Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike:

Ham’s top priority is to make the Lakers a much tighter defensive unit. “Defensively is where you’re going to see our biggest leaps and bounds,” Ham said. “We have to commit to the defensive side of the ball, or we don’t have a chance.”
Ham said he’ll be just as tough on Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the team’s role players: “We have a saying, ‘Facts over feelings.’ And once you see the film, that’s a fact. You missed your assignment, then that has to be pointed out. Because if I can’t point it out to one of our Big Three, then the last man or someone in the rotation, they’re not going to take what we’re doing seriously.”
VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said Ham was a “unanimous” choice among the team’s decision-makers. “It’s easy to be grateful when you find a candidate that you feel is the ideal fit for what the franchise is looking for. And that’s what coach Ham represents to us,” Pelinka said.

Lakers Notes: Ham, Westbrook, Prospect Workouts

June 3rd, 2022 at 5:42pm CST by Rory Maher

At least three people involved in the NBA Finals believe Darvin Ham was the correct coaching choice for the Lakers, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.

Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown, who will take over as head coach of the Kings once the season concludes, has known Ham since 1996, when Ham was a rookie for the Nuggets and Brown was a first-year staffer, Woike writes. Brown later gave Ham his first NBA coaching job as an assistant on his staff with the Lakers in 2011.

“Everyone is like, ‘He’s a rookie head coach, going in there to work for the Lakers with all those veterans,’ but don’t get it twisted,” Brown said. “I would like to see who would be the first to challenge Darvin or roll his eyes because he will stand his ground. And he will make sure his point gets across and gets across within an authority a situation like that may need.”

Like Ham, Draymond Green is a native of Saginaw, Michigan, and he said Ham was an inspiration to him growing up, per Woike. Green also said Ham will bring much-needed toughness to Los Angeles.

“I think he’s going to bring a toughness, a blue-collar mentality just because that’s how he’s built. That’s how he’s raised. You have to be that way from Saginaw,” Green told The Times. “I think it’ll be a different toughness that they haven’t seen. And he’s going to command and require a different respect level that they haven’t really have had. … And I think that will bode well for that team.”

Celtics big man Al Horford also praised Ham, who was on the Hawks’ coaching staff when Horford played in Atlanta, as Woike relays.

“We really got after it,” Horford said of Ham. “He really challenged me to be better on the defensive end. Really challenged me to just be a better player in general. Darvin is about as good a guy as you’re going to see, a big competitor. Extreme competitor. The Lakers are really lucky to have a guy like him. He’s the kind of guy that you want.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Ham’s greatest challenge as head coach will be figuring out the best way to utilize Russell Westbrook, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. With that in mind, Buha explores three ways the new coach can optimize Westbrook’s minutes, assuming he’s still on the roster in 2022/23. Buha also notes that Ham isn’t expected to address the media until early next week.
L.A. is holding a workout with six draft prospects on Friday, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The six are Lucas Williamson (Loyola Chicago), Hyunjung Lee (Davidson), Paul Atkinson Jr. (Notre Dame), Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt), Jamal Cain (Oakland), and Gaige Prim (Missouri State). According to ESPN’s big board, Pippen is the highest-rated among the group at No. 69, which makes sense, since the Lakers don’t currently hold any draft picks.
In case you missed it, Ham was officially hired as head coach earlier today.

Lakers Notes: Ham, Westbrook, Davis, LeBron

May 28th, 2022 at 8:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Darvin Ham provides the Lakers with everything they were looking for in their coaching search, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Instead of going with a flashier name, L.A. opted for a respected assistant in Ham, who will be the team’s sixth head coach in the past 11 years.

The Lakers wanted someone who had worked for the team, as Ham did as an assistant coach from 2011-13, who had won a title and who had experience coaching star players. Ham checked those boxes, along with being a former player, having a strong personality and working under respected coaches such as Gregg Popovich and Mike Budenholzer.

Former coach Frank Vogel reportedly encountered resistance in the locker room this season, but an unidentified league executive told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports that shouldn’t be a problem for Ham.

“If you look around the league now, the coaches who are having successes — Steve Kerr, Monty Williams, Willie Green — [not only have] excellent knowledge but an ability to connect and hold [players] accountable,” the executive said. “(Ham) has a personable blend of that. A strong individual. He can garner respect from his players. I like it.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

The organization’s poor treatment of Vogel may have discouraged a few coaches under contract who might otherwise have been interested in the job, such as Nick Nurse, Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers, Buha suggests in the same piece. Buha points out that L.A. gave Vogel a low offer when he was hired, only added one year to his contract after he won a title in 2020 and leaked a report of his firing immediately after the final game of the season.
With the team reportedly unwilling to part with a first-round pick to find a taker for Russell Westbrook, one of Ham’s first challenges will be figuring out how to manage the enigmatic guard, observes Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insider link). Westbrook is most effective when surrounded by shooters, so Pelton believes Anthony Davis will see more time at center next season. Pelton also expects Ham to try to change the way Westbrook is used, employing him as a screener more often than a spot-up shooter.
Pelton believes another priority will be a load management plan for LeBron James, who will turn 38 next season. James missed 26 games this year, but averaged 37.2 minutes when he did play, his highest figure since the 2016/17 season.

Lakers Not Interested In Using First-Round Pick To Trade Westbrook

May 24th, 2022 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

Teams that have spoken to the Lakers about Russell Westbrook have been demanding at least one first-round pick in any potential trade, league sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

However, the Lakers haven’t been receptive to that idea and have no intention – at least for the time being – of using one of their future first-rounders to facilitate a Westbrook deal, Buha reports.

Westbrook is expected to pick up his $47.4MM player option for the 2022/23 season and will be one of the league’s most expensive players following a disappointing first year in Los Angeles. Although he’ll be on an expiring contract, Westbrook will be a negative trade asset, with teams only willing to take him on if the Lakers sweeten the pot.

Having already traded away a pair of future first-round picks, the Lakers can currently only trade either their 2027 or 2028 selection. After next month’s draft, they’d be able to include their 2027, 2028, and 2029 first-rounders in trade discussions — if they move the ’27 or ’29 first-rounder, they wouldn’t be able to trade the ’28 pick due to the Stepien rule.

But the front office appears averse to attaching any of those picks to Westbrook, and Buha suggests it’s not just a negotiating stance to regain leverage. League sources tell The Athletic that people within the franchise genuinely believe that the right head coach and supporting cast can help Westbrook fit in better going forward.

Buha personally believes that bringing back Westbrook would be a mistake, arguing that the Lakers should be willing to include a first-rounder if necessary to make a deal or even to take the approach the Rockets did with John Wall, leaving the point guard at home to start the season. Waiving and stretching Westbrook’s contract or attempting to negotiate a buyout are other possible paths for L.A., but Buha views those as unlikely.

While the Lakers may not be interested in giving up a first-round pick just to dump Westbrook’s salary, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t be more open to the idea if they’re getting a couple legitimate rotation players in return.

Buha identifies the Pacers and Hornets as potential trade partners that may appeal to the Lakers, listing Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, Kelly Oubre, and Mason Plumlee as possible veterans of interest. I’m skeptical that a couple of those players would be legitimately attainable in a Westbrook deal, even with a first-round pick attached, but if the Lakers were willing to put two first-rounders on the table, more options would open up.

Pacific Notes: Johnson, Westbrook, Lakers, Kings, Loucks, Ayton

May 23rd, 2022 at 7:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Magic Johnson believes it’s crucial for the next Lakers coach to figure out how to maximize Russell Westbrook alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as he told David Aldridge of The Athletic. Johnson doubts Westbrook’s hefty contract will deliver a palatable package in a trade, so the new coach will need to figure out how best to use the veteran guard in order for the Lakers to make a postseason run next season.

“Well, it only can work, if you’ve got the coach — the right coach. To me, it still comes down to, who’s the coach?” the former Lakers president said. “And, then, also, he’s on a one-year, $47 million (contract with a player option). Even if you offer him (in a trade), what are you, realistically, going to get back? I told them this too — you’re going to get some contracts you probably don’t want, and they’re going to go (chronologically) past his contract. You’ve really got to think about that.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers have supposedly narrowed their list of potential candidates to replace Frank Vogel to three — Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson. However, Marc Stein reports in a Substack piece that a source close to the situation believes the list under consideration is “still wider” than that trio. Other prominent names could surface or candidates already interviewed for the job may reemerge.
Luke Loucks has agreed to join Mike Brown’s staff with the Kings, Marc J. Spears of ESPN tweets. Loucks currently works for the Suns in basketball strategy and personnel evaluation. Loucks previously worked with Brown in Golden State and with the Nigerian national team.
Deandre Ayton‘s agent, Bill Duffy, said in a SiriuxXM NBA Radio interview (Twitter link) that they were “disappointed” the Suns didn’t offer him a max contract extension. However, Duffy is confident his client will get a substantial offer this summer. “Things will work out for Deandre,” Duffy said. “He’s a valuable player and there’s other teams in the league as well. He’s a restricted free agent, so we’ll see how this process unfolds.”

Pacific Notes: Looney, Payton, Iguodala, Ham, Stotts

May 21st, 2022 at 8:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors center Kevon Looney, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, continues to pump up his value. Looney, who grabbed 22 rebounds in the clinching win over Memphis, delivered one of the top performances of his career during Golden State’s Game 2 comeback against Dallas on Friday night.

He had 21 points, 12 rebounds and no turnovers in 32 minutes while holding whoever he was guarding, including Luka Doncic, to 1-for-11 shooting, ESPN’s Kendra Andrews notes.

“Playing center for the Warriors, it’s a different type of job from other teams,” Looney said. “A lot of the scoring and stuff, we don’t really need us to do. It’s a lot of screen setting and a lot of play-making and doing different things. For me to have a game like that is cool.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

It doesn’t seem as if the Warriors’ Gary Payton II or Andre Iguodala will play in the Western Conference Finals, though both are making “progress,” the team’s PR department tweets. Recovering from a left elbow fracture, Payton has started to do light individual on-court activities and will be reevaluated in one week. Iguodala, who has missed nine games due to a disc injury in his neck, is also doing light individual on-court activities along with physical therapy and weight room training. His status will be updated when he rejoins team practices.
An Athletic report on Friday suggested that Bucks assistant Darvin Ham has emerged as the top candidate for the Lakers’ head coaching job. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha believes Ham is the right choice, stating Ham is long overdue for an opportunity to be a head coach. He also has ties to the organization as a former assistant coach there, a championship pedigree and is well-respected by players, Buha adds.
The Orange County Register’s Kyle Goon takes a look at the three reported finalists for the Lakers’ job, a list that also includes Kenny Atkinson and Terry Stotts. Goon believes Stotts is the most likely to find ways to make Russell Westbrook more effective but also notes that Stotts’ teams often flamed out early in the postseason.

Darvin Ham Leading Candidate To Become New Lakers Coach?

May 20th, 2022 at 9:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Sources tell Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic that Bucks assistant Darvin Ham has made the “strongest impression” on Lakers brass thus far in interviews, and appears to be the leading candidate for the head coaching job.

As we relayed earlier today, Ham, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, and former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts are reportedly finalists for the position.

Los Angeles’ leadership is looking for a coach “who can command respect and authority from the locker room” while maintaining a strong voice and presence in order to manage the differing personalities throughout team’s roster. Ham’s “no-nonsense style and ability to resonate with his players” has impressed the Lakers to this point, according to Charania and Amick.

They aren’t listed as finalists, but Bucks assistant Charles Lee and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin haven’t been eliminated from consideration yet. However, former Warriors coach Mark Jackson is no longer a candidate, per The Athletic’s duo.

Here’s more on the Lakers’ coaching search, courtesy of Charania and Amick:

Owner Jeanie Buss will meet the finalists during their in-person interviews, which will occur soon. She has not been involved in the process to this point.
The team’s search committee is headed by VP of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka, and it will make the final decision on who’s hired. Buss plans to defer to the committee’s recommendation. Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson, who are reportedly advising Buss despite not having official roles, are not part of the search committee. LeBron James isn’t on it either — only Lakers officials are.
After a disappointing season and lots of turmoil surrounding the franchise over the past few years, including the poorly executed firing of former head coach Frank Vogel, Buss “is determined to assuage any and all of the finalists’ concerns about the organization” as the team concludes its search, says Charania and Amick. She plans to deliver a message centered on providing the necessary resources and support for the Lakers to be successful going forward.
The team is still operating as though Russell Westbrook will be on the roster next season, which is why the coaching candidates have been asked how they’d use him. Assuming the Lakers are unable to find a trade for Westbrook, which would undoubtedly be difficult given his enormous ($47MM) player option and declining play, releasing him isn’t considered a viable alternative, nor is having him away from the team, like the Rockets did with John Wall this past season, per Charania and Amick.
However, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article that he remains skeptical Westbrook will be on the roster in 2022/23. Stein notes that while the team is reluctant to part with future first-round picks to grease the wheels on a Westbrook deal, creating a “fresh-start atmosphere” for next season will be very difficult if he’s still on the Lakers.

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, McNair, Christie, Lue

May 16th, 2022 at 6:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While many Lakers fans hope they’ve seen the last of Russell Westbrook in a Los Angeles uniform, the front office is proceeding as if Westbrook will remain a part of the team.

Head coaching candidates that the Lakers have interviewed have been asked to discuss how they would use the enigmatic point guard in their system, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports. It appears that maximizing Westbrook’s impact after his disastrous 2021/22 season is considered an important part of the job, Amick adds.

This could be an indication of Phil Jackson’s input on the Lakers’ search, since Jackson is known to have an affinity for Westbrook.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

In the same story, Amick writes that Kings general manager Monte McNair is entering the final season of his contract and there have been no talks about a possible extension. That leads to an awkward situation with their new coach, Mike Brown, having a significantly longer deal (four years) than the GM who played a major role in hiring him. McNair’s contract status was a concern for some of the coaching candidates Sacramento interviewed, Amick adds.
Among the priorities that the Kings established before hiring Brown was that the new coach would retain Doug Christie on the staff, Marc Stein reports in a Substack article. Sacramento is also hoping for an improvement mirroring the Timberwolves’ success with their young core to end a league-record 16-season playoff drought.
Klutch Sports has many high-profile athletes as clients — they’ve also got another prominent coach now in the Clippers‘ Tyronn Lue. He’s signed up with the agency, Klutch tweets.

Lakers’ Jeanie Buss Discusses Down Year, Front Office, More

May 10th, 2022 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss wasn’t happy with the way her team’s season played out, she said in a wide-ranging interview with Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. With championship expectations and one of the NBA’s most expensive rosters entering the 2021/22 season, Los Angeles went 33-49 and missed both the playoffs and the play-in tournament.

“I’m growing impatient just because we had the fourth-highest payroll in the league,” Buss told Plaschke. “… When you spend that kind of money on the luxury tax, you expect to go deep into the playoffs. So, yeah, it was gut-wrenching for me to go out on a limb like that and not get the results that we were looking for. … I’m not happy, I’m not satisfied.”

As the final decision-maker on Lakers matters, Buss said it was up to her to “make things better” after an “extremely disappointing” year, which could mean making personnel changes on and off the court.

“Absolutely, if we are not living up to the Lakers standard, absolutely I will look at everything,” she said. “… I will make the hard decisions, because that’s what you have to do.”

Although it sounds like front office changes could be on the table if the Lakers have another down year, Buss appears prepared to give VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and his group at least one more shot to reshape and upgrade the roster, as well as to hire a new head coach, Plaschke writes.

“In terms of basketball decisions, I have complete confidence in our front office, which is headed by Rob Pelinka,” Buss said. “He is a person that is extremely smart, extremely strategic, everything he does is thoughtful and with purpose. … I have complete confidence that he can put together a roster and find a coach that is going to get us back to where we belong.”

Here’s more from Buss on the state of the Lakers:

Buss confirmed that she receives input from Kurt Rambis, Linda Rambis, Magic Johnson, Phil Jackson, LeBron James, and Klutch Sports, but insists that none of those figures have outsized voices within the organization. “Do they have final say? No. Are they running the team? No, no, not at all,” Buss said when asked about James and Klutch Sports, adding that it’s normal for teams to bounce ideas off of their top players. “I am controlling owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, I’m held accountable for every decision that’s made here.”
Buss defended Kurt Rambis’ track record against what she perceives as “unfair criticism” and stressed that Linda Rambis has no input in basketball decisions. “In terms of Linda Rambis, she does not have a role in the basketball department; her role is, as it’s been for the last almost 40 years, is as my advisor,” Buss told Plaschke. “She and I have worked together for years and years and years. Why that has become an issue for people, I don’t understand.” Linda helps new Lakers players and their families adjust to Los Angeles, according to Buss: “Every team has somebody like that, in our case it’s Linda. … She’s done that for over 30 years with the Lakers. Not like all of a sudden she’s become the assistant general manager, that’s not true.”
Buss believes the Lakers can win another title with James and Anthony Davis as their cornerstones, but declined to speculate on Russell Westbrook‘s future with the team. “Having a conversation like that is premature,” she said. “We have to now find the right coach to lead this team. Depending on the style of play that that coach wants to play, given the roster that we have, it all has to start to come together.”
Buss hasn’t given any thought to the idea of selling the Lakers, telling Plaschke that her late father Jerry Buss always wanted to keep the franchise in the family. “I’m not going anywhere. This is exactly what my dad asked me to do. The team is not for sale,” Jeanie said. “… I like to say, my dad had his children, but the Lakers were his baby, and he put me in charge of the baby, and I will make sure that the baby thrives.”