The Los Angeles Lakers are trying something different with Russell Westbrook. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham announced a bombshell lineup move the franchise is making with Westbrook, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Per Woj, Ham said that Russell Westbrook will be coming off the bench for the Lakers' final NBA preseason game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

As Woj notes, this is something that Westbrook and Ham have been discussing, where the nine-time All-Star “quarterbacks” the Lakers' second unit.

The NBA insider further reveals that the thinking behind the decision- hopefully- is that Westbrook ‘can play freer and faster with the ball in his hands on the second unit.” The Lakers then wouldn't have to try to fit a square peg into a round hole with the ball-dominant Westbrook starting alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The real kicker here is, the Lakers are reportedly going to “continue to discuss” this move with the regular season around the corner. The franchise opens the 2022-23 campaign on Tuesday, October 18 against the Golden State Warriors.

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After months of trade rumors, then weeks of Lakers brass twisting themselves into a pretzel attempting to make Westbrook a fit in the starting lineup, perhaps this was the best move all along.

After all, Los Angeles' bench unit could use a spark- and if anyone can provide energy and scoring, it's Russell Westbrook.

Darvin Ham might see things that way. But will Westbrook? That is going to be the interesting dynamic here.

For now, Lakers fans can sit back and see how this experiment works when the result doesn't count in the win-loss column that really counts.