Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly plan to keep veteran guard Russell Westbrook next season.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein (h/t HoopsHype), the Lakers are "tuning out the skeptics" and telling "anyone who will listen" that they won't give up additional assets to trade Westbrook or eat his salary by releasing him.

The expectation is that Westbrook will exercise the $47 million player option in his contract to remain with the Lakers next season before becoming a free agent in 2023.

L.A. acquired Westbrook from the Washington Wizards during the offseason as part of a trade that sent Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to D.C.

The hope was that Westbrook would be the third star the Lakers needed alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but it didn't work out that way, as Los Angeles went a disappointing 33-49 and missed the playoffs just two years after winning a championship.

While James and Davis missed significant time because of injury, Westbrook's middling play didn't help matters.

Much was expected of the nine-time All-Star, one-time MVP and future Hall of Famer, but he ended up averaging just 18.5 points per game, his lowest scoring output since his second season in 2009-10.

Westbrook's 7.4 rebounds per game were his fewest since 2014-15, and with just 7.1 assists per game, it marked only the second time in seven seasons that he averaged fewer than 10 assists per contest.

Westbrook also shot just 44.4 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc, plus he turned the ball over 3.8 times per game.

His performance this season was a far cry from what he did in his only season with the Wizards when he averaged a triple-double with 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and an NBA-leading 11.7 assists per game, marking the fourth time in five seasons he averaged a triple-double.

It's possible things could be different for Westbrook next season if James and Davis stay healthy, but there isn't a ton of optimism among pundits that the Lakers will be able to contend for a championship with Westbrook as a key player on the roster.

The big issue is that LeBron, AD and Westbrook occupy so much salary-cap space that there isn't much the Lakers can do in making splashy offseason moves if all three remain on the payroll.

If the Lakers are unwilling to part with other assets to offload Westbrook, then it's difficult to envision him playing for any other team next season.

A former teammate of Darvin Ham has offered his assessment of what the 48-year-old will offer the Los Angeles Lakers as their new head coach. 

Speaking to Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Chauncey Billups noted Ham is "going to be honest as a coach" in Los Angeles. 

“He’s ready for this job," Billups added. "He’s the right guy for this Lakers job."

Billups, currently the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, played with Ham for two seasons from 2003-05 with the Detroit Pistons. They won an NBA championship during the 2003-04 season by defeating the Lakers 4-1 in the Finals. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Ham played against LeBron James four times when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers during that two-season span. 

James expressed his excitement about Ham joining the Lakers as their new head coach. 

Los Angeles hasn't officially announced Ham's hiring, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday he has agreed to a four-year deal to replace Frank Vogel. 

The Lakers will be looking for a quick rebound after this season's disappointing 33-49 record. They missed the playoffs for the second time in four seasons with James on their roster. Vogel, who was hired in May 2019, was fired on April 11 after going 127-98 and winning an NBA title during the 2019-20 season. 

This will mark Ham's first stint as a head coach in the NBA. He previously worked as an assistant with the Lakers from 2011-13 on Mike Brown's coaching staff. 

Since the 2013-14 season, Ham has been an assistant for Mike Budenholzer. He spent five seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before joining Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018. 

Ham won an NBA title as an assistant coach with the Bucks during the 2020-21 season.     

Russell Westbrook's first season with the Los Angeles Lakers was a disaster, and the wide belief has been that the team would have to move on from the veteran point guard if it wants to return to contention. 

But not everyone in the Lakers organization reportedly agrees, as The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported on Friday's The Forum Club podcast (h/t HoopsHype):

I think everyone knows they kind of have to trade Westbrook, that is partially why they are now entertaining keeping him. I do think, from what I've heard, there's a segment within the franchise that does believe Russ could be utilized better, that this could work that they could, you know, with the right head coach with the right supporting cast, they can figure that out.

Westbrook, 33, had one of his worst professional seasons for the Lakers in the 2021-22 campaign, averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 29.8 percent from three and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. 

His points were his lowest mark since the 2009-10 season, his second in the league, and his rebounds the lowest since 2014-15.

When Westbrook was on the court, the Lakers were outscored by 4.0 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. When he sat, that number improved to only being outscored by 1.6 points.

Trading for him didn't work, in other words, and that was compounded by injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Westbrook's poor play, combined with those injuries and a poorly constructed roster around the stars, resulted in a disastrous 33-49 season. 

The issue for the Lakers is that ditching Westbrook is going to be expensive, if downright impossible, given the $47 million player option he'll assuredly exercise. 

Any team with salary-cap space willing to take on that amount of salary is going to demand serious draft capital. The Lakers could use the waive-and-stretch provision, cutting Westbrook while stretching his salary over three seasons, but that will still cost them $15.6 million over those three years—the equivalent of signing a good starting role player.

So the Lakers may indeed be resigned to the fate of trying to make it work with Westbrook, despite the disaster that was the last season. It will be a major task for new head coach Darvin Ham.  

Six players are scheduled to take part in the Los Angeles Lakers' pre-draft workout Saturday, including UConn guard Tyrese Martin and Alabama guard Keon Ellis.

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported the entire list.

Per the original pre-draft workout list provided Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll, Baylor guard James Akinjo was not originally scheduled to take part in the workout. With Villanova guard Collin Gillespie now out, Akinjo has stepped into his place.

This workout marks the Lakers' second pre-draft exercise. They hosted six players on May 10:

The Lakers do not currently hold a 2022 NBA draft choice. They traded their first-rounder to the New Orleans Pelicans in the three-team Anthony Davis deal in 2019. L.A. also moved its second-round pick to the Washington Wizards to complete that trade.

However, the Lakers have interest in buying a second-round draft choice, per John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Ellis appears to be the highest-ranked player that the Lakers have brought in thus far. He ranks No. 57 on Rookie Scale's top-100 NBA draft consensus big board. The only other top-100 player on the Lakers' list is Martin at No. 95.

Ellis, 22, averaged 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals for the Crimson Tide last year. Martin, 23, posted 13.6 points (43.0 percent three-point shooting) and 7.5 rebounds in 2021-22. Both players are 6'6" guards.

This year's NBA draft will take place on Thursday, June 23.

The Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching job reportedly didn't appeal to Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder.

According to Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Snyder "wasn't interested" in going to L.A. despite rumors that the Lakers coveted him during their head coaching search.

Los Angeles hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham on Friday to replace the fired Frank Vogel, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Given that the Jazz haven't made it out of the second round of the playoffs in any of the past six seasons under Snyder, there was some thought that Utah would be open to a coaching change.

In the same vein, it was assumed that the Lakers job would perhaps appeal to Snyder since he was an assistant for the team during the 2011-12 season and would have a chance to coach the superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

It is still possible the Jazz will move on from Snyder, but for now, it appears he is set to return for his ninth season.

Utah should be a playoff team again next season if it returns the core led by Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson, but a shake-up seems likely at some point since playoff success has been so elusive.

As for the Lakers, Ham has experience with the organization, having been an assistant coach from 2011 to 2013. He later spent time with the Atlanta Hawks before making the move to Milwaukee in 2018.

As one of head coach Mike Budenholzer's top assistants, Ham helped lead the Bucks to the NBA championship last season.

Ham spent eight seasons in the league as a player, winning the title in 2003-04 with the Detroit Pistons.

The Lakers finished a disappointing 33-49 this season and missed the playoffs, primarily because James and Davis missed significant time with injuries.

The lack of a strong supporting cast around LeBron and AD is a concern, but if they can stay healthy, L.A. could resemble the team that won the championship two seasons ago.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to miss Darvin Ham, but the Bucks star praised the Los Angeles Lakers for hiring the Milwaukee assistant as their new head coach on Friday, which was first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ham had been a member of the Bucks' staff since 2018. Antetokounmpo was an All-Star in each of Ham's four seasons, named the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year and named NBA MVP in both 2018 and 2019.

Antetokounmpo's comments come after Lakers star LeBron James tweeted his excitement about the hiring of Ham who, according to Wojnarowski, "made a strong impression" with the Purple and Gold's brass. 

The Lakers liked Ham's "championship pedigree, his commanding presence, history of coaching stars and toughness," Wojnarowski reported. It comes as little surprise as Ham has coached the likes of Antetokounmpo and was a member of Milwaukee's 2021 NBA title-winning squad. 

That said, Ham will undoubtedly face his challenges in L.A. after the Lakers finished 11th in the Western Conference this season and missed the playoffs after entering the year with high expectations following the addition of Russell Westbrook. 

However, he was arguably the best candidate of the Lakers' reported finalists. Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts were also finalists for the position, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. 

The Los Angeles Lakers hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their new head coach Friday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and superstar LeBron James voiced his support for the move on Twitter shortly after it was revealed.

Ham was one of three finalists for the Lakers' head coaching job, joining Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. 

According to Wojnarowski, Ham made a "strong impression on [the] Lakers in several areas, including his championship pedigree, his commanding presence, history of coaching stars and toughness."

Ham replaces Frank Vogel, who was fired after a disappointing 2021-22 season in which the Lakers finished 11th in the Western Conference standings with a 33-49 record and missed the playoffs. 

That said, the 48-year-old has his work cut out for him.

The contracts of James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook (player option) would take up nearly 74 percent of the salary cap, and the Lakers struggled with their team chemistry throughout the 2021-22 campaign.

If Westbrook stays in L.A., Ham will be tasked with helping the guard get back to his high level of play after his underwhelming first season with the Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers wing Kent Bazemore may be regretting the free-agent decision he made last offseason.

After watching the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-110 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday to advance to the NBA Finals, Bazemore tweeted the following Friday morning:

Bazemore feeling "sick" over the Warriors' win may have had something to do with the fact that he turned down the opportunity to return to Golden State this season.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported in August that Bazemore turned down a two-year contract from the Warriors and took less money to sign with the Lakers on a one-year deal in order to chase a championship.

That move didn't pay off, as both LeBron James and Anthony Davis missed significant time with injuries, causing the Lakers to shockingly miss the playoffs with a 33-49 record.

Bazemore also had his worst production since his rookie season in 2012-13, as he finished with averages of 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 39 games.

Bazemore spent two seasons with the Warriors to start his career and played for them during the 2020-21 campaign as well. Unfortunately for him, he missed their five straight trips to the NBA Finals and three championships from 2015 to 2019.

Golden State is now in an ideal position to return to the top of the NBA, as it is awaiting a clash with either the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

If the Warriors win, it will mark the fourth championship for core team members such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Bazemore is still searching for his first, but perhaps he can chase one with the Warriors next season since he is set to become a free agent again when the 2021-22 campaign ends.

The Los Angeles Lakers head coaching search has received yet another update following the news that the team had narrowed down its list of candidates to three finalists.

The Lakers hosted former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts for an in-person interview on Tuesday for their vacant head coaching position, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson are expected to meet with the Lakers in the near future, Wojnarowski added.

Stotts is said to be "intrigued with potentially coaching Russell Westbrook and believes he can help him be more effective and comfortable with his role than he was last season," according to NBA.com's Mark Medina. 

The Lakers' search for a new head coach is expected to take some time. General manager Rob Pelinka told reporters last month that it would be a "thorough and methodical" process.

The franchise's interest in Stotts comes as no surprise. The 64-year-old has 13 years of head coaching experience, most recently leading the Trail Blazers from 2012-21.

In his nine seasons as Portland's head coach, Stotts went 402-318 in the regular season and 22-40 in the playoffs. He led the Trail Blazers to eight straight playoff appearances but made just one appearance in the Western Conference Finals.

He has also coached the Atlanta Hawks (2002-04) and Milwaukee Bucks (2005-07).

Meanwhile, Ham has made the "strongest impression," according to The Athletic's Shams Charania and Sam Amick. 

In terms of the Lakers' preferences, sources say team officials have prioritized a coach who can command respect and authority from the locker room and who has a strong enough presence and voice to manage the varying roles and relationships across the roster. Those characteristics bode well for Ham’s candidacy.

That said, the Lakers "have not completely abandoned hope" that Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers will become available this summer, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. Rivers would be one of the team's top candidates if he was made available. 

The Lakers' head coaching position will be one of the most difficult jobs in the NBA in 2022-23. The next bench boss will be tasked with getting Russell Westbrook back to form and managing the workloads of veterans LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who each dealt with injuries during the 2021-22 campaign.

In addition, the Lakers likely won't have much cap space to make any significant acquisitions in free agency, which doesn't bode well for their chances next season.