As training camp creeps closer for the Los Angeles Lakers, reality is starting to set in about their prospects this season.
Barring a late summer trade of Russell Westbrook, most agree they will be either a low-tier playoff team or a play-in tournament squad.
But new head coach Darvin Ham has been singing an optimistic tune all offseason, and it hasn’t stopped now that his team is just over two weeks away from the first day of camp.
This week, he insisted during a press conference that he’s happy with the roster he has at the moment.
Coach Darvin Ham says @patbev21 brings "competitiveness, togetherness, and accountability" to the locker room. #Lakers pic.twitter.com/7zZq7ppNwD
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) September 6, 2022
“I’ll tell you what, I’m happy with what we have. Absolutely.”
There will be some questions about rotations, the starting lineup and the depth chart, but Ham is confident those issues will work themselves out during camp.
“We’ll see, man. Like I said we feel comfortable about what we’ve assembled and once we get to playing, and once we get to going 5-on-5, going up and down, different guys are going to separate themselves and again it starts at the defensive end. It’s not much use, if we don’t guard anybody. I mean, we got three first ballot Hall of Famers and a bunch of other guys around them that can score. So offense we just gotta be organized and be disciplined in how we space, and how we run, and where we give these guys the ball so that won’t be as big of a hurdle.
“Defensively is something you can get right just about every night and that’s where we need to place our hard hats. Once we get our group workouts going, once we get guys going up and down, those practices and those scrimmages, that’s where guys will earn their minutes.”
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One glimmer of hope for Ham and the Lakers is Patrick Beverley, whom they traded for recently. The coach said he loves the addition and that the veteran guard will help set the right tone for Los Angeles.
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