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The Los Angeles Lakers’ fortunes have dramatically changed since the start of this calendar year.
In January, they were stuck with an incomplete and unbalanced roster that lacked viable depth, especially at the wing and forward positions. They also had a glut of small guards that were somewhat of a defensive liability.
But multiple midseason trades remade them into a balanced team that reached the Western Conference finals despite having to develop makeshift chemistry on the fly.
For this season, many consider the Lakers legitimate championship contenders. Head coach Darvin Ham told ESPN why he believes his team is close to winning it all (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via ESPN:
“Absolutely (I think we’re close to a championship team),” said Ham. “We have leadership like LeBron James and Anthony Davis; some of the talent we were able to bring back in Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell.
“Then, you think about the guys we added in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes. I think the sky is the limit for what we will be able to do.
“I think we added a lot of depth, a lot of guys that have skill, size and athleticism, so I look forward to all of that coming together.”
At the same time, Ham warned that his squad will have to stay healthy and together in order to take home the NBA title.
“A coach I worked for always used to always say, ‘The most together team will win,'” said Ham.
“I think the togetherness (is crucial to separating champions from the rest) and obviously, you need to execute and have a team full of guys who are willing to sacrifice their personal goals, their personal agendas, to align themselves with what the team goal is and that’s to win the championship.
“A lot of luck goes into that. Obviously, at our level, you have to be healthy; you have to be in a good rhythm team-wise — all the guys have to be on the same page. You have to keep your team organized.
“Obviously, in the middle of all that, is talent, but at the end of the day, it’s a team sport and the team that’s most together — selflessly putting themselves on the line for the greater good of the team — those are usually the teams that come out on top.”
Ham is going into his second season at the helm of the Lakers. Although some criticized him at times this past season, many now generally believe he did a fine job of guiding the team through the rough spots of the 2022-23 campaign.