LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook have reportedly pledged to make their "Big Three" experiment work. New Lakers coach Darvin Ham has said that he is "excited as hell" to have Westbrook on the team. Everyone in Los Angeles is attempting to put the right spin on the 33-year-old guard's status with the team.
But the truth is that the Lakers are only sending out these messages because they may be stuck with Westbrook for (at least) the start of the 2022-23 season. They aren't particularly close to acquiring Kyrie Irving, Buddy Hield or any other perimeter player who would be a better fit alongside James and Davis.
MORE: Should the Lakers send Westbrook to the bench?
At this point, Los Angeles must attempt to work with Westbrook and adjust his role in order to avoid another disastrous campaign. During an in-game interview at the Las Vegas Summer League, Ham discussed his expectations for Westbrook, saying that the former NBA MVP will have to pick up the defensive intensity and do more of his offensive work without the ball.
(Video courtesy of The Sporting News' Stephen Noh)
On Tuesday night, Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported that the Lakers are specifically "hopeful for a corner-3 shooting percentage bump" from Westbrook in 2022-23. On the surface, that seems like a ridiculous idea. Westbrook is the worst high-volume 3-point shooter in league history, and he shot 29.8 percent on 3.4 attempts from beyond the arc per game last season.
However, there is some evidence to suggest that pushing Westbrook to take more of his triples from the corners would, if nothing else, be making the best of a bad situation.
Of the 265 3-point attempts that Westbrook launched in 2021-22, 214 came from the wings and top of the key. He shot 26.2 percent in those areas. The corners were a different story — he went 23 of 51 (45.1 percent) in those spots and found a real comfort zone in the left corner.
Westbrook also shot 13 of 32 (40.6 percent) from the corners in 2020-21 with the Wizards. Yes, we're talking about small sample sizes here, but the Lakers have to start somewhere if Westbrook is going to be sharing the floor with James and Davis.
The problem with Westbrook, as always, is whether he is actually willing to let go of his ball-dominant style. He deflected blame in his exit interview, describing issues with former Los Angeles coach Frank Vogel and declaring that he never had a "fair chance" to be the best version of himself.
Is the guy who still views himself as a star mentally prepared to be something closer to P.J. Tucker? Or is a trade simply inevitable?
Ham and the Lakers are trying to sell the idea of "Role Player Russ." Westbrook's shot chart early next season could be a good indicator as to whether he is buying it.
