Lotta guys talking about what coach brings. Whether it be confidence in much maligned players like Westbrook or Schroder, letting AD loose in a way Frank evidently could not, or just getting some end of the bench guys a solid chance to shine it’s clear that, to this early point, Ham is the biggest Lakers acquisition.
How we do out of the gate is going to be huge. Closing out preseason on a high note can help but the Lakers need to try and kick off this true season with a big win over a semi-reeling (at least internally). Last season the narrative controlled our team. Our poor performances were prophetic for bad basketball and everyone came out tarnished. Nobody will look back on last season as something positive. I know I don’t.
At any rate, the biggest move the Lakers made wasn’t a massive trade other than sending THT to The Phantom Zone. It was bringing in Ham. Now, personally I wish we had cleaned house a little more thoroughly. I consider Rob to be an awful GM, a terrible evaluator of talent, and poor example of leadership because the buck stops anywhere but on his desk. He is, at best, a yes man who lucked into the Bubble banner. At worst he is utterly inept and will continue to make poor choices that will lead to a full tear down. If we had better draft assets I’d be down. We don’t because of Rob. You can even take the AD trade away because that was Klutch as much as Rob. Same for LeBron when Magic was in charge.
Is Ham enough? We’ll see. Preseason has been encouraging but that’s not a good predictor of NBA success. Only winning is. So let’s keep these good times rolling. Ham will either lead this team to something the experts don’t see but I can at least imagine.
That’s not a prediction but a hope. I don’t think we’ll trade Russ until February, if then. I don’t know who will start or finish games but I know coach is smart enough not to say something about finding a permanent rotation and sticking with it. There are some encouraging signs, albeit few of them. As a modern Lakers fan you gotta take what you can get.
I’m going into this with no expectations. There’s so much that has to fall into place just for us to be middle of the pack. D.Ham seems to be a good pick but who da hell knows? Not sure if this season in this situation is the best opportunity for him to show his talents. Even going forward past this season, we’re in a tough spot considering the roster construction, lack of assets, an aging Lebron, and friggin Rob still in his job.
I am still kind of semi-shock regarding Rob’s extension. Just goes to show how much Jeannie values personality/familiarity over actual skill.