“And I challenged him and he accepted the challenge. That’s a part of the word ‘sacrifice’ we use. And being able to move him around in different spaces on the floor as we go back on the offensive end. Sometimes he’s going to be off the ball slashing. Sometimes he’s going to play in the dunker. Sometimes he’s going to be initiating things. He may post up a little bit. He may be the screener in pick-and-rolls. “So, being able to diversify his plan of attack where he’s not just rushing the ball up the court facing three defenders every time and having to put his, like I said in the press conference, run to the telephone booth and put their capes on. Everybody needs to be involved with what we’re doing on both sides of the ball and I think it’ll make it easier, lighten the load and also allow us to get stronger as the season gets longer.”
Source: Ashish Mathur @ Heavy.com

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I’ve seen a lot of people suggest that the 27/29 Laker picks aren’t valuable, and hey, they’re the Lakers, they might have a new star by then, but all I want to say is this:
Do you trust the team that put all of its eggs in the Russell Westbrook basket to turn this thing around? – 5:12 PM

Jim Eichenhofer @Jim_Eichenhofer
Total #NBA players in 2021-22 who appeared in all 82 games: 5
Total NBA players in 2010-11 who appeared in all 82 games: 32 (including Kobe, Harden, Westbrook, Pau Gasol, Jrue)
Players in 2021-22 who appeared in 81+ games: 9
Players in 2010-11 who appeared in 81+ games: 52 – 11:47 AM

CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Russell Westbrook trades: How Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield could fit on Lakers in a hypothetical Pacers deal
cbssports.com/nba/news/russe… – 10:48 AM

Russell Westbrook @russwest44
Yesterday my @WhyNotFdn cut the ribbon on a new futsal court at Capitol Hill High School in OKC. I was also honored to receive the key to OKC from @davidfholt Our community is something we hold close & we will continue to show our support for all @OKCPS & the people of OKC pic.twitter.com/mBQO2a4uFc – 8:46 PM

Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
New with @John Hollinger: Evaluating the Lakers’ offseason, including the best option with Russell Westbrook, why Darvin Ham should succeed in LA, realistic free-agent targets at the taxpayer MLE and realistic expectations for next season: theathletic.com/3358893/2022/0… – 6:35 PM

More on this storyline

Ham, who told reporters that Westbrook has a ton left in the tank during his introductory press conference on June 6, already has an idea of how he can get the best out of the one-time MVP. “I think the style of play we’re going to have, you know, all of those guys — not only just Russ but LeBron, AD — they’re going to be able to share the load,” Ham said. “And one thing I mentioned to Russ is the way I’m built, the success I’ve seen — especially most recently in the last nine years and the last four years being with Coach Bud in Milwaukee, also in Atlanta, but in Milwaukee — one thing we always preached and will continue to preach to be our foundation of our teams is a defensive mindset, being able to defend at a high level. -via Heavy.com / June 17, 2022

Clutch Points: Steve Kerr becomes the first male in 4 major professional sports to obtain 4+ championships as a PLAYER and COACH 👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/Z8H09DMmdH -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / June 17, 2022

Keith Smith: Ime Udoka said he told the Celtics players and coaches: “Don’t come back the same. Let this motivate you to come back better.” -via Twitter @KeithSmithNBA / June 17, 2022