LA Lakers News Roundup: NCAA champion on working out for the Lakers, 2x All-Star believes you have to be built different to play for the Lakers and more | 5th June 2022
The LA Lakers finally announced the recruitment of former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham. The franchise took to Twitter to officially welcome Ham as their new head coach.
While news of his recruitment by the Lakers had made the rounds for days, the franchise had yet to make an official release about it. With his appointment has come tons of approval from fans, pundits and players, including LeBron James.
The four-time champion took to his Twitter account to congratulate Ham and shared his excitement to commence the 2022-23 season campaign.
Lakers Nation is buying into the franchise's plans to rebuild under Ham, as they are hopeful the upcoming season will bear rewards. Although this will be Ham's first appointment as head coach, he has won two titles, one as a player and one as a coach.
He won the 2004 NBA title with the Detroit Pistons. He also won as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.
Andre Drummond shares opinion on what it means to play for the LA Lakers
Andre Drummond's time with the LA Lakers only lasted for 21 games with an average of 24 minutes played per game. He joined the franchise after a short stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers and has since moved around quite a lot. The four-time rebound leader has represented four franchises in the past two seasons.
Andre Drummond spoke on what it means to play for a historic organization like the Lakers.
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In an interview, the two-time All-Star shared his thoughts on what it means to play for the purple and gold franchise. He was of the opinion that if one is to play for the Lakers, they are required to be "built differently."
He expounded on his statement, saying that mental strength is just as crucial on and off the court with the Lakers. He said:
“Playing for the Lakers is exactly what you think it is man, you gotta be built differently to play for that organization.
"You gotta be mentally strong not even just on the court, but off the court too because it’s so much expectations to being a Laker and putting that purple and gold on because if you don’t meet those expectations they will let you know that you not worthy enough to wear that jersey.
"You gotta play to the best of your ability and play hard each and every night, regardless of win, lose, or draw. You gotta just play hard that’s what gets respect. I had a lot of fun out there.”
He stated that every player is expected to play at their very best capacity every night, regardless of the outcome. He also shared that he enjoyed his time with the franchise.
NCAA champion David McCormack speaks about training with the LA Lakers
David McCormack played a key role in leading Kansas to their fourth NCAA title. The college had not won the title in 14 years, but a three-point margin against North Carolina was good enough to win them the title.
McCormack trained with the Lakers on Tuesday in the franchise's third round of the pre-draft. After his performance, he revealed he was confident in his display as it pertains to strength, physicality, rebounding and the securing of second possessions. He said:
“Today I definitely showed my strengths as far as being strong, being physical, rebounding, getting second possessions. During a skill and drill work, during shooting drills, I was able to show that I had somewhat of a perimeter shot and doing pretty well on all ball screen defense.”
“When you’re with the Lakers organization, you have a target on your back you know. Everybody loves the Lakers. Huge fan base and everybody’s always gunning for them, so I kind of have that same mindset as if I’m playing for Kansas to the Lakers."
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He also shared that playing with the LA Lakers places a target on his back. The unwavering love for the franchise by people, he said, constantly gets people gunning for the organization. He stated:
“When you’re with the Lakers organization, you have a target on your back, you know. Everybody loves the Lakers. Huge fan base and everybody’s always gunning for them, so I kind of have that same mindset as if I’m playing for Kansas to the Lakers. You have to have the same mental fortitude and that transition.”
Gary Payton disagrees with people who call Kobe Bryant selfish, says the late LA Lakers player is a competitor
The late Kobe Bryant has been described by some as being selfish with the ball. His desire to help his team, saw him with the ball more than other players on the roster. The same could be said about lots of modern-day basketball players.
Gary Payton, however, addressed that narrative. He was asked to share his Kobe Bryant stories that stood out to him, and then he spoke about how much of a competitor the Black Mamba was.
He stated that all Bryant wanted to do was compete and be great. As such, he worked hard, asking the veterans how best he could improve his game. Payton said:
"He was a great kid. People think about Kobe the wrong way. They think about selfishness and all that stuff. Forget that! This kid was a competitor, that's all he was. A competitor! And that's all he wanted to do. He wanted to be great."