Lakers dedicated to Russell Westbrook's results: 'It's gonna be a excellent yr for him'

The Lakers are committing, at least for now, to relocating forward as a united group with LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis at the forefront of the staff regardless of an 11th-put finish a calendar year in the past.

“Last 12 months is past 12 months,” new mentor Darvin Ham said Monday. “This 12 months is a full new chapter.”

Westbrook vowed to carry on to be expert whilst declaring he wanted to enable the Lakers acquire — a thoughts established that Ham claimed Westbrook has revealed him all through the summer season.

Davis reiterated that the Lakers want Westbrook to be aggressive and to feel like himself inspite of pushback from Westbrook at the conclusion of final time, questioning whether the Lakers essentially preferred that. And James stated he “absolutely” believed Westbrook could bounce again just after past season’s disappointing yr.

“It’s gonna be a fantastic 12 months for him,” James claimed. “We’re heading to be correct there with him.”

All of this will come on the heels of a summer time when the Lakers experienced really serious conversations about buying and selling Westbrook in an energy to increase their odds for rivalry this season. The Lakers, for the most component, have balked at the inclusion of two potential to start with-spherical picks.

Common supervisor Rob Pelinka explained the organization, in portion to reward James’ motivation to the Lakers by signing a agreement extension, is dedicated to using any resource essential to boost the team’s championship hopes. But, in the exact same respond to, Pelinka mentioned the Lakers essentially have “one shot” to make a deal if they trade the 2027 and 2029 initially-spherical draft picks, so they want to make confident it’s the suitable 1.

“Whether they want me in this article or not doesn’t seriously make a difference,” Westbrook reported when asked specifically about the Lakers’ needs for him.

Ultimately, Westbrook mentioned he’s just psyched to get again on the court.

“I’m blessed,” he mentioned.