Darvin Ham On Lakers’ Offseason: ‘We Still Have A Long Way To Go’

New coach Darvin Ham doesn’t seem deterred by the fact the Lakers are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, failing to qualify for even the play-in tournament.

He believes they can quickly return to contention.

“Coming from Milwaukee, I’ve seen alignment between ownership, front office, and head coach and coaching staff, and the one thing (Lakers VP of basketball operations) Rob (Pelinka) and I decided is we needed a team that was more athletic and we need more shooting,” Ham said, via Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

“So far, so good, in my opinion. We still have a long way to go. Every team, not just us, are always looking for ways to improve their roster. We’re definitely trying to get our resources together to put the best possible team on the court for 2022/23.”

The Lakers have indeed signed some intriguing younger players this offseason — from Lonnie Walker IV to Thomas Bryant to Damian Jones to Troy Brown Jr. and Juan Toscano-Anderson. They also added guard Max Christie via the draft.

Last year, they entered the season with the oldest roster in NBA history. Such won’t be the case this season and it’s a prospect that has Ham feeling good about his first head-coaching job.

That said, the Lakers remain determined to trade Russell Westbrook, the goal being to find younger and better fits in return.

One league source told Hoops Wire that LA isn’t set on finding a big name or All-Star in return for Westbrook — just someone who complements LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

That said, the Lakers may not have a choice but to bring back Westbrook. So far, they’re not close to a deal.

“I’m thrilled to coach Russ. They try to dump on Russ, I’m like that was one of the things that got me excited about this job,” Ham revealed in an interview with Showtime, via Anthony Gharib of Lakers Nation. “He and I have had a great great rapport since I’ve taken over the job man. Just text messages, phone calls, dinners. I locked in, I cornered his ass outside the elevator over at the Encore.

“He and I had a great conversation then. We all know what comes along with this business man. People throwing your name in trade rumors. I’ve been in the league since ’96 man. I don’t know anybody that’s been on any team that hasn’t had their name thrown in a trade rumor or been traded.

“As a coach, they’ll be saying they ready to fire me, the media be saying they ready to fire me in a year, year and a half. Well, you can’t help but hear the noise sometimes. You just got to stay solid, do what you do and you’ll win in the end every time. I witnessed it with him.”