Lakers Rumors: Russell Westbrook, Darvin Ham Had 'Heated' Exchange in Locker Room

Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook and head coach Darvin Ham engaged in a "brief, heated verbal exchange" during halftime of the team's 133-130 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Per Wojnarowski, Ham had taken issue with how Westbrook "lingered on the playing floor after getting subbed out of game late in second quarter."

Any animosity between Ham and Westbrook didn't seem to spill out of the locker room. Ham didn't freeze the nine-time All-Star out, which would've been a surefire sign of wider drama.

Westbrook logged 13:49 off the bench in the first half and saw his playing time increase slightly (14:11) in the second half. He even finished 5-of-6 from the field for a team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter.

The 34-year-old has been the focus of steady trade speculation for much of his two-year run in Los Angeles.

Most recently, the Lakers made an unsuccessful run at Kyrie Irving, a trade which would've seen Westbrook head to the Brooklyn Nets. According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, the Utah Jazz have also discussed a deal that would see them acquire the 2016-17 MVP.

Perhaps the Lakers will find a suitor for Westbrook ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

Should he remain in L.A., however, Wojnarowski's report adds to the general uncertainty over whether the franchise can manage the situation to make the playoffs, or even qualify for the play-in tournament.

At 25-30, the Lakers are 13th in the Western Conference. Still, they trail the sixth-place Dallas Mavericks by four games and only have a two-game gap on the Utah Jazz for the final play-in berth.

If Los Angeles can have a sustained period of consistency over a few weeks, then its postseason outlook could shift dramatically. But there hasn't been much evidence so far that the team can put together that kind of run and avoid getting its own way.