Lakers: Russell Westbrook Laughs Off Idea of Becoming Bench Player
When new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham held his introductory press conference on Monday, there were a few current players in attendance. Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, and Wenyen Gabriel all took in the words of their new head coach at the team's El Segundo practice facility, as did Russell Westbrook.
This isn't the first time a high profile Lakers player has made it a point to be seen at a new head coach's press conference. In 2019, LeBron James attended Frank Vogel's presser to show support for the franchise's decision and to back Vogel. On Monday, Russell Westbrook did the same for Ham, but unlike LeBron, the story was much more than Russ simply attending the press conference.
As The Athletic's Bill Oram, who also attended the presser, outlined in an article this week, Westbrook couldn't hide his reactions to a question directed to Ham about the Lakers third fiddle coming off the bench.
"But when Ham was asked whether he had discussed a potential role change with Westbrook, including the possibility of him coming off the bench, Westbrook, who had been expressionless through most of the proceedings, couldn’t keep himself from frowning, then laughing. He turned and started jabbering with Austin Reaves and Wenyen Gabriel, seated nearby, eliciting chuckles from the two younger players."
Therein lies the problem with Westbrook on this Lakers team. By most indications, like his exit interview where he threw Frank Vogel under the bus, Russ doesn't think he's the one that needs to change. He believe he just needs a coach that understands him.
Ham went out of his way to praise Westbrook and called him "one of the best players our league has ever seen" and shied away from directly answering the question about benching Russ.
If it does come to that, it won't be a laughing matter.
