Darvin Ham Says Russell Westbrook Has 'A Ton Left In The Tank'

[RealGM Wiretap]

Darvin Ham publicly supported Russell Westbrook during his opening press conference as Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

"Russell Westbrook is one of the best players our league has ever seen, and there's still a ton left in the tank," said Ham. "I don't know why people tend to try to write him off."

Westbrook, along with Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson and Wenyen Gabriel, attended Ham's press conference.

"I'm going to expect him to be the same tenacious, high-energy player that he's been all his entire career. A lot of that now may have him without the ball in his hand. Most of it now may have it on the defensive end. But again, we have to sacrifice. There's no achieving anything without all parties sharing the load, sacrificing, instead of one-on-one," added Ham of his expectations of Westbrook.

Ham began his NBA coaching career as an assistant under Mike Brown with the Lakers during the 2012-13 season.

Ham stressed the idea of accountability for all of the players on the Lakers roster, including what he deemed a "Big Three" with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Westbrook.

"We have a saying, 'Facts over feelings.' And once you see the film, that's a fact. You missed your assignment, then that has to be pointed out. Because if I can't point it out to one of our Big Three, then the last man or someone in the rotation, they're not going to take what we're doing seriously."

Rasheed Wallace is currently in discussions to join Ham's staff.

Via Dave McMenamin/ESPN

[hyberx]

Physically yes, he just ran on empty upstairs.

[TheCage4]

Take note of the enthusiasm a new hire brings. Let's revisit this a few months into the season.

[bbalnation]

I'd like to ask that we put a name to the human beings responsible for Realgm articles, that had the original text pasted (such as here: Dave's text).

It looks like they're also responsible for the cover photo that's used, such as here, with Russell's photo. This is also the case for every RealGM article, where the Realgm Staff choose what text & picture works well together.

Lets give credit where credit is due.

[taikibansei]

Ham left out that by “tank” he was referring to “septic tank.”

[Tamimi]

Ham left out that by “tank” he was referring to “septic tank.”

Or maybe he meant to say: "he has a ton left to tank."

[taikibansei]

Ham left out that by “tank” he was referring to “septic tank.”

Or maybe he meant to say: "he has a ton left to tank."

Either way, they're both full of **** here (though I like Ham).

[Hans1984]

He's going ham.

[Salty1]

When it turns out your entire team that can't shoot a jump shot still can't hit a jump shot. You will realize this isn't 2004 anymore Darvin, but way to fool the lakers into wasting yet another season.

[RajonRambo]

Green eggs and Ham… “a good salesman I am” says Darvin to the fans.