If Russell Westbrook ends up staying in LA, the biggest question he and the Los Angeles Lakers will have to answer is his role with the team. He'd definitely be a starter on any other team, but for the Purple and Gold, some execs and scouts don't think he should.
Darvin Ham may already have plans for Westbrook and Patrick Beverley, but there remains a lot of uncertainties on how effective he can be with the Lakers after the horrible run they had last year.
In fact, according to Ric Bucher of FOX Sports, the NBA execs and scouts he reached out to expressed their belief that the Lakers will be better off with Westbrook coming off the bench.
“It’s hard to see him as anything but a backup for the Lakers,” a Western Conference scout said. “It’s hard for him to play with [Anthony Davis] and LeBron [James]. It might be OK if they let him go with the second unit. He has to play the only way he knows how unless he can miraculously learn to shoot.”
There is certainly merit to that idea. Russell Westbrook is an initiator on offense and is a more effective player when he attacks the rim and gets the attention of opposing defenses, but the fact of the matter is he can't play to those strengths as a starter for LA. If he plays in the second unit as the focal point of the offense, it could definitely do wonders for the team.
Unfortunately, the bigger issue is whether or not Russ can accept that “lesser role.” He hasn't been a bench player since his rookie season in 2008, so it might be a little bit trick to convince him to sacrifice his starting spot.
“It is not what he has left, it is: How he will accept that he is not the player that he was?” the same scout added. “It’s similar to Carmelo. I’m not sure Russ has the awareness to accept a lesser role.”
It remains to be seen what the Lakers will do, but should Westbrook still start and continue to struggle in 2022-23, Ham may have to make a rather difficult choice.
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