SACRAMENTO — Coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers will bring former most valuable player Russell Westbrook off the bench for their preseason finale Friday night, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Los Angeles Times.
It’s possibly a sign the Lakers could take drastic action early in the season as they try to find ways to optimize LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook.
Westbrook last came off the bench in an NBA game on Nov. 28, 2008, during his rookie season. Members of the Lakers organization and coaching staff pushed for the team to take this step last season, but former head coach Frank Vogel believed keeping Westbrook as a starter gave the team its best chance at figuring things out while keeping the nine-time All-Star engaged.
