Russell Westbrook Coming off Lakers Bench Is Not a 'Demotion,' Darvin Ham Says

The Los Angeles Lakers are playing Russell Westbrook off the bench in Friday's final preseason game against the Sacramento Kings, but head coach Darvin Ham told reporters ahead of tipoff that the decision is not a "demotion."

Ham, who categorized it as more of a "realignment," added that "the door is not closed" on Westbrook starting.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin reported that the Lakers wanted to get a better look at Westbrook leading the team's second unit on Friday. It's possible he serves as the team's sixth man entering the season, ESPN added.

"The Lakers want to give Westbrook a chance to play both faster and freer with the ball in his hands leading the second unit, something perhaps mirroring the autonomy that Rajon Rondo had during the 2019-20 season," ESPN wrote.

It's not necessarily surprising that Westbrook was pegged to play off the bench in L.A.'s preseason finale. He was unimpressive through the team's first handful of games and finished a Wednesday loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves with just five points, three rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes.

When Ham was introduced as head coach of the Lakers over the summer, a reporter asked if playing Westbrook off the bench was a possibility during the 2022-23 campaign. The nine-time All-Star laughed at the idea.

Playing off the bench would be a pretty significant adjustment for Westbrook, who has started all but 17 games—which came during his rookie season with the Oklahoma City Thunder—in his 14-year career.

However, the decision to leave him out of the starting lineup for the first time since the 2008-09 season would be warranted after he put together arguably the worst season of his career in 2021-22, averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 29.8 percent from deep in 78 games.

The Lakers tried offload the 33-year-old during the offseason, but his $47 million salary for 2022-23 and the team's unwillingness to attach its 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a package prevented a move from happening.

While talks appear to have subsided with opening night on the horizon, Wojnarowski reported Friday that the Purple and Gold "will start engaging teams again" on a possible Westbrook trade.

The Lakers open the regular season Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.