Things did not go particularly well for Russell Westbrook in his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers, and while Year 2 hasn’t officially started yet, the early trends are not positive for the former league MVP.
On Friday, the Lakers revealed that Westbrook would come off of the bench for the team’s preseason finale and strongly hinted at that being a possibility in the regular season.
Just don’t call it a demotion, at least not in the presence of first-year coach, Darvin Ham.
In speaking of the decision to use Westbrook off of the bench, Ham said (per Chris Haynes, Yahoo Sports) “it’s not a demotion, it’s a realignment.”
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham on Russell Westbrook coming off the bench tonight: “It’s not a demotion; it’s a realignment.”
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 15, 2022
Naturally, several people in the NBA world had a lot of fun with Ham’s choice of words.
Me when I get dumped: https://t.co/ZexldhjAzA
— Nick Stellini (@StelliniTweets) October 15, 2022
I didn't get dumped, it's just a replacement https://t.co/UouKhorG6B
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) October 15, 2022
https://twitter.com/angiecthomas/status/1581085255158546432
Love this. "It's not a benching; it's a reallocation." https://t.co/Qa4eaFE9qy
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) October 15, 2022
Suuuuure https://t.co/XZGEE447tM
— Max Lederman (@Max_Lederman) October 15, 2022
Things going swimmingly in Lakerland https://t.co/QSVU0KrsDW
— Anthony Nash (@_anthonynash) October 15, 2022
This happened to me at work once. Same wording and everything.
They took all my responsibilities away. I didn't have to run a team anymore. And my pay stayed the same.
Me and Russ = same. https://t.co/pWOy4amx3j
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) October 15, 2022
And there’s another issue. The man who will be taking Westbrook’s starting spot is Patrick Beverley, who’s been a longtime irritant of Westbrook’s.
I'm sure Patrick Beverley will handle coming in and taking Westbrook's spot in the starting lineup with absolute professionalism and class, particularly given how well those two have gotten along historically. https://t.co/tasnp47CM2
— Mason Ginsberg (@MasonGinsberg) October 15, 2022
Ham can use whatever word he wants to describe Westbrook coming off of the bench, but the decision is warranted. Westbrook struggled offensively throughout the 2021-22 season and while it’s only preseason, those issues don’t seem to be fixed in the 2022-23 campaign.
NBA basketball is back, and so are the Russell Westbrook airballed free throws. 🏀🎐 pic.twitter.com/VWTLccCVAH
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 6, 2022
Making matters worse for Los Angeles is that the Lakers didn’t make the playoffs, or even the play-in tournament. Given that the Western Conference is expected to be better this year, Los Angeles needs a seismic shift from what happened a season ago. The Lakers couldn’t trade Westbrook in the offseason. But whether it’s a “demotion,” “realignment” or some other fancy word Ham wants to use, a different role is worth considering.
[Chris Haynes on Twitter]
