New Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is expected to switch from having the team’s offense run through Lebron James in 2022-2023, and it seems “King James” is A-OK with the move.
There is no doubt the Lakers needed to make some major changes after finishing with a putrid 33-49 record last season. It felt like whatever could go wrong did for the team in 2021-2022. Anthony Davis missed 42 games, James was out for another 26 and big-ticket acquisition Russell Westbrook had one of the worst seasons of his future Hall-of-Famer career.
It was so bad that the Lakers didn’t even earn a spot in the NBA playoffs play-in tournament. Due to this fact, head coach Frank Vogel became the fall guy for a disastrous season and was dismissed from his role just two years after helping the organization win its 17th championship.
In June, the team began its remodeling with the hiring of Milwaukee Bucks assistant Ham. Thus far the most notable statements on Ham’s vision for the team have been based on a renewed effort toward defense next season, including for Westbrook — if he stays. Yet there has been little talk on the offensive plans for the Lakers in 2022-2023, until now.
Anthony Davis will be the centerpiece of Los Angeles Lakers’ new offense
On Tuesday, Yahoo Sports reported that the recent conversations between James and Lakers decision-makers were not specifically about a contract extension. In fact, the talks mostly centered on the team’s strategy and mentality in the new season, as well as Ham’s plans for the focus of the offense.
“[Ham] voiced that defensive tenacity needs to be picked up all across the roster and also forewarned that players would have to play new roles and if he sensed reluctance, he wouldn’t hesitate to remove them from the game, sources said.
“Furthermore, the first-year head coach said one wrinkle he will implement and stick with is having the offense run through Anthony Davis, and James concurred, sources said. The team has been encouraged with Davis’ offseason progression and believes he’ll be in optimum shape to avoid serious injuries and carry a heavier load.”
The idea of James not being the featured player in an offense would seem shocking at first thought since he had another impressive All-Star performance last season. However, at 37, he can’t keep carrying the team’s offensive load and be expected to stay healthy and play at an elite level come playoff time.
Switching to Davis — an eight-time All-Star who is still only 29 years old — as the focal point on offense does make a lot of sense, especially if the team truly feels he is getting in the best shape of his career ahead of the new season.
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