Russell Westbrook's 'Sacrifice' Praised by Lakers' Darvin Ham After PG Traded to Jazz

The Los Angeles Lakers are entering the post-Russell Westbrook era following a three-team trade that sent him to the Utah Jazz ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline, and head coach Darvin Ham had nothing but good things to say about the veteran point guard on Thursday.

Ham told reporters, via Michael Corvo of Clutch Points:

"Russ made an unbelievable sacrifice and complied with my strategy of bringing him off the bench. As I said before, it wasn't a demotion. It was a realignment. I thought it would bring more balance to us as a team ,and he tried to do that every day. He came out and played well and just like any other player. There were good moments and not so good moments in terms of getting stuff done on the floor. But make no mistake about it, I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a professional and everything he's accomplished in this league."

Westbrook was traded to the Jazz in the deal that landed the Lakers D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Minnesota Timberwolves

The trade put an end to an abysmal season and a half for Westbrook in Los Angeles.

The Lakers acquired Westbrook from the Wizards ahead of the 2021-22 season, sending Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma back to Washington in the deal. The Purple and Gold had high hopes for Westbrook alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but he contributed to what was a dysfunctional trio.

Last season, Westbrook put together arguably the worst year of his career, averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 78 games, all starts, while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 29.8 percent from deep.

The Lakers went on to finish the 2021-22 campaign 11th in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. They then fired head coach Frank Vogel, replacing him with Ham.

Westbrook served in a sixth-man role for the Lakers this season under Ham. And while the team had hoped he would find success in that position, he continued to struggle, averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 52 games while shooting 41.7 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent from deep.

Now in Utah, the Jazz are expected to buyout Westbrook's contract, per Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes. If he becomes a free agent, he'll undoubtedly receive interest from contending teams looking for some depth through the second half of the season.