Former Lakers Coach Darvin Ham Gets Honest About Why Russell Westbrook Era Failed

Nov 7, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham speaks with guard Russell Westbrook (0) against the Utah Jazz in the second quarter at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Russell Westbrook is an undisputed future Hall of Famer. So why has he become such a passed-over journeyman in his NBA dotage?

The 6-foot-4 UCLA product, 36, spent a year-and-a-half with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, from 2021-22 through a portion of 2022-23, while on a maximum contract. LA thought its "Big Three" of Westbrook and future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis could contend for championships, instead it circled the lottery drain.

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Ultimately, the Lakers ditched Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn in a series of roster-balancing trades during their first season under head coach Darvin Ham. A reconstituted Los Angeles righted the ship and eventually advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

While speaking on the "Hoop Genius Podcast" with hosts Mo Mooncey and Brendan Suhr, Ham explained why — to his thinking — Los Angeles didn't achieve much during its short-lived Russell Westbrook era.

“But in terms of Russ, man, you know, it was a difficult situation. ’Cause to get a player like that, you pretty much have to gut your team — and that’s essentially what happened," Ham said. "In order to get Russ on the Lakers, they had to part ways with Alex Caruso, KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope], Kyle Kuzma, and a lot of other players they weren’t able to keep because the money wasn’t there," Ham said. "Now you’ve got three essentially supermax players on your roster."

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Caruso wasn't traded as part of the Westbrook deal, and in fact Los Angeles opted to let Caruso depart for the Chicago Bulls in free agency and decided to hold onto raw, unproven guard Talen Horton-Tucker instead.

Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope, big man Montrezl Harrell, and that year's No. 22 draft pick (eventually used on Isaiah Jackson) were shipped off to the Washington Wizards for Westbrook's hefty contract.

'Financial Constraints'

"And you know, now you’ve got to go after lower-level players who — God bless them — they’re capable players, but to be elite and win a championship in our league, you have to be elite and have an elite group," Ham added. "A lot of times, the financial constraints just won’t allow you to do that.”

Ham guided the Lakers to a 90-74 overall regular season record during his first (and thus far only) head coaching stint, from 2022-24. He brought the James/Davis Lakers to a pair of playoff appearances, posting a 9-12 overall record. He's now an assistant on the Milwaukee Bucks under Doc Rivers.

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.