Lakers, Darvin Ham Must Re-Evaluate Russell Westbrook's Role amid Latest Trade Rumors

Only three games into the 2022-23 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers already find themselves at a crossroads. The Lakers are 0-3, tied for last place in the Western Conference, and find themselves with a Russell Westbrook problem yet again.

Westbrook, the much-maligned star and prized 2021 offseason acquisition, still isn't fitting with the Lakers' core of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He's been a better defender under rookie head coach Darvin Ham—albeit in a small sample—but his shot selection remains puzzling.

Through three games, Westbrook has shot an abysmal 30.3 percent from the floor. His inability to create and poor decision-making led directly to Sunday's 106-104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Westbrook entered that game with less than five minutes remaining, and the Lakers held an eight-point lead. He badly missed a wide-open three-pointer in the final minutes and then pulled off this head-scratcher with 30 seconds in the game and 18 on the shot clock:

That's bad situational basketball, and Westbrook's teammates were understandably perplexed. Westbrook's brick led to a Trail Blazers comeback, leaving L.A. in search of its first win and for answers.

For some fans—and likely a contingent of the Lakers' front office—the good news is that a Westbrook trade could still happen this season. According to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, a deal with the Indiana Pacers for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner is still doable.

Los Angeles might also have a trade partner in the Utah Jazz, per O'Connor:

"Utah has been connected to the Lakers for months, too. League sources say that before the Jazz sent Bojan Bogdanovic to the Pistons, the Lakers offered Westbrook, a future first-round pick, and second-rounders for Bogdanovic and others. Sources expect the Lakers and Jazz to resume talks later in the season with some combination of other players discussed. (Utah has Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gay—three veterans who can all shoot.)"

However, a trade isn't on the immediate horizon. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that the Lakers will likely wait until after Thanksgiving—when Dennis Schröder is expected to return—to flip the switch on a deal.

This leads us back to Ham, who must figure out a way to mitigate Westbrook's poor shooting in the interim. If the 33-year-old continues costing L.A. games, a trade at any point in 2022 might not make a lot of sense.

The idea of acquiring a shooter like Hield or Clarkson is intriguing. Another perimeter threat would complement the Lakers core far better than Westbrook is right now. However, giving up future first-round capital is only logical if the Lakers can make a playoff run this season.

If the Lakers are in too deep of a hole by Thanksgiving, that may not be possible. At that point, paying Westbrook, keeping the picks and chalking up a lost season may be L.A.'s best option.

However, if Ham can find a better role for Westbrook, L.A. may be able to turn things around quickly. I've long been a firm believer that Ham can get more out of Westbrook than Frank Vogel ever did because he's a new coach and open to building a system around his players.

Ham also seems to have a much better relationship with Westbrook. This led to Westbrook at least being open to the idea of coming off the bench late in the preseason.

According to Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, this was a strategy that couldn't have worked under Vogel:

"After evaluating their lineups and rotation in training camp and the preseason, the Lakers determined in recent days, sources say, that it would be best to stagger James and Westbrook. It was something the Lakers considered doing last season, but then-head coach Frank Vogel was reluctant because he feared Westbrook wouldn’t respond well to coming off the bench."

Of course, the experiment of using Westbrook as a sixth man hasn't continued into the regular season. Instead, he has started all three games and averaged 28.7 minutes. Notably, Westbrook also pushed back against the idea of being a role player, blaming his status on the bench for his preseason hamstring injury.

"Honestly, I didn't even know what to do pregame," Westbrook said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose. ... That's something I just wasn't accustomed to."

For the good of the team, though, Ham must revisit the idea of bringing Westbrook off the bench, even if it upsets his third star. Westbrook can provide a big tempo shift offensively in spurts, but he's a clear liability when playing significant minutes and in clutch situations.

As a fast-break specialist, a distributor and a willing defender, Westbrook can still have a valuable role for this team—even if it's only temporary. But allowing him to chuck up 12.7 shots per game while missing the majority of them isn't the answer.

Short of telling Westbrook that he isn't allowed to shoot the ball, the only answer is finding a role for him that does work. While Westbrook probably won't like it, that may mean using him only as a fill-in change of pace.