What is going to happen with the Los Angeles Lakers?
This is a question that fans have been asking for months now, ever since it became apparent the team wasn’t going to get it together last season and probably miss the playoffs.
Sure enough, they didn’t make the postseason and since then many people have wondered how the team will change moving forward.
So far, the front office hasn’t shaken things up too much in the offseason: adding a few role players, a new head coach, and Patrick Beverley.
That incoming coach, Darvin Ham, has a few words about the idea of Beverley playing alongside Russell Westbrook.
Just days ago, the idea of these two guys being side by side on the court seemed unlikely but it’s quickly becoming a reality that people should be prepared for.
Ham says it could indeed happen – under one condition.
Darvin Ham on if Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley can start together: “If they play defense. If they play defense. Definitely.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) September 6, 2022
Asked if Beverley and Westbrook could start together in the new season, Ham said, “If they play defense. If they play defense. Definitely.”
This statement reveals a few things about the team’s current plans.
Russell Remains?
Conventional wisdom still suggests that Westbrook will be leaving the Lakers soon.
The team is actively working behind the scenes to move him but no definitive plans have come together.
This means that there is a possibility that Westbrook stays with the team and ends up playing with Beverley, who is infamous for saying unkind things about the former MVP.
Ham’s words about this pairing show that he is focused on the team’s lacking defense.
Their inability to get stops last year really hurt them and their blocking and speed on defense were sometimes nonexistent.
It’s good to hear that Ham is aware of that and working hard to change it.
NEXT: Patrick Beverley Offered Up A Legendary Quote About LeBron
