Pelinka, Ham embrace expectations
EL SEGUNDO ❯❯ If the Lakers' preseason media day on Monday will be similar to the first day of school, then Thursday's press conference with General Manager Rob Pelinka and coach Darvin Ham was akin to the school leaders explaining the summer when class wasn't in session and setting the stage for what's to come.
The optimism from Pelinka and Ham was palpable.
Granted, it's rare for team leaders to be outright dispirited heading into training camp. But the Lakers have genuine reasons to be bullish on the outlook of their 2023-24 season.
“I think back to February and the trade deadline; obviously, we collectively made some moves, ended the season strong with one of the top defenses, one of the top overall records post-trade deadline,” Pelinka said. “We talked about that as being pre-agency, which sort of led us into July, where our theme was continuity, and bringing our group back that was a Western Conference finals team and trying to improve around the edges. We put in the work to affect that plan, and execute that plan.”
Their plan to keep the core of the roster intact worked.
The Lakers' own free agents who were retained with new contracts: D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt also received long-term extensions, with the Lakers returning six (LeBron James, Hachimura, Reaves, Russell, Davis and Vanderbilt) of the top seven players from last season's playoff rotation.
They also made key additions in free agency to improve around the margins, signing Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Christian Wood.
“Just different ways that we can take things to an even higher level,” Ham said about what stands out about the roster. “To echo Rob's sentiments, the sustainability of bringing back the main part of our core, and also adding to that — Rob used the phrase of not just going after star players, but players that star in their roles. I thought we did a phenomenal job doing that, executing that.
“We've re-established the competitive gene that this organization has been known for at a high level. A lot of the preparatory work has been done in terms of sustaining that culture. I'm excited about having these guys all in the fold, all together, building that chemistry and continuity and being able to hit the ground running on Day 1.”
For as much continuity as the Lakers have from how the 2022-23 season ended, they'll also benefit greatly from training camp. James, Davis, Reaves and Max Christie are the lone players who were on the Lakers' main roster at the beginning of last season.
“We had to learn on the fly a lot,” Ham said. “But now, bang, we're here with a full summer, full training camp.
“We're looking forward to a highly, highly competitive camp. It's gonna be some fun times to watch.”
For as good as the Lakers' moves looked on paper, they understand more will be required.
“For the paper to look like one thing, there has to be a huge amount of work, patience — it's gonna be a process,” Ham said. “To Rob's point, it's October to June. That's a long stretch. So, everyone has to come in with that daily, being-in-the-moment mentality of trying to get better, not just individually but collectively at something each and every day.”
And they're not shying away from their championship-contending expectations — something expected from any team that includes James, who is entering his 21st NBA season. But also expectations they earned with how last season finished.
“We were laughing upstairs, like, people talking like “now you got expectations.” Well, since I was five, six years old I had expectations,” Ham said. “No matter what route you choose in life, you're going to have expectations. To me, that's living. You don't have any expectations around you, you're just existing. I want to live. I came here for those expectations. I've been a part of teams as a player and coach that have had expectations. You don't run from it. You just embrace it.”