The Los Angeles Lakers finally have a coach. Darvin Ham will take the reins and fill in for Frank Vogel after a disastrous campaign. But even with a new coach, they still have a roster to fix and it's not going to be easy.
The biggest hurdle the Lakers will have to get by is Russell Westbrook. If they were to keep him, his contract would all but kill any sort of financial flexibility. If not, they'd have to give away at least a pick to get rid of him.
Apparently, Rob Pelinka and the front office are reluctant to do the latter and would rather give the experiment a second chance. That would be sabotaging Ham in his first season, according to Chris Broussard.
NBA News: Chris Broussard Urges The Lakers To Get Rid of Russell Westbrook
"Of all of the names that were out there, Darvin Ham was the guy to go with for the Lakers. It was a great hire," Broussard said. "But now there are all these rumblings out there they they're gonna keep Russ."
"I think they kind of have to have a plan B. So plan how you're going to use Russ if you have to keep him, but if you end up having to keep Russ cause you can't trade him, then have a plan C where if it's not working early, just release him," Broussard added. "Don't sabotage your entire season if, after 2-3 weeks, it's the same old thing as last year, but the Lakers have to try to move Russ, or I don't see this being too much different from what we saw last year."
The Los Angeles Lakers can't put all the blame on Westbrook for their tumultuous season, but he didn't do much to help, either. He's a great player, but he's just not a good fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
But then again, they need to at least try and drive his trade value up if they want to have any sort of leverage in a potential deal. That's a risky move, but it might be the only way to make something out of his contract.
