The Los Angeles Lakers have been known for their fast-paced offense since LeBron James’ arrival — and new head coach Darvin Ham hopes to keep the dangerous weapon in L.A’s arsenal while at the helm.
The Lakers crushed teams in transition during the 2019-20 championship season, another evidence of how much their defense contributed to the title victory. Ham seemingly wants to emulate the success of that team as L.A. brought in many athletic defenders whose stops can trigger the offense this summer.
One of them was Troy Brown Jr., who said he’s spoken with the Lakers head coach about how the Purple and Gold can translate their effort on the defensive end into offense.
“Just talking about pace, being able to get out and play faster even on the defensive end how to speed up offense and stuff like that for other teams,” Brown said.
“Being able to put pressure on guys where we can close out and then get out and run in transition. I think it’s definitely something that we’ve been talking about and something I look forward to.”
Brown said he thinks he possesses the skill set that will allow him to thrive in Ham’s system. The 22-year-old added the head coach seems “excited” about his first year in charge of the team. “And I love it,” Brown said.
“That’s the biggest thing I’m taking from it right now is he’s very excited. He seems like he has kinda his plan and he knows what he wants to do with us and he’s just ready to implement it and make sure that we’re all comfortable in the roles that we have and making sure everybody knows the style of basketball we’re gonna be playing this year.
“That’s the biggest thing is he just seems really excited and very enthusiastic right now. That definitely makes a guy like me feel happy, and definitely makes me feel more comfortable.”
Brown ready to sacrifice for the betterment of Lakers team
Ham has made it clear he will demand his players to sacrifice and prioritize the team over themselves. Brown said he’s ready to do what’s necessary for the team to win games — adding he thinks his versatility will come in handy for L.A.
“Oh I definitely still have the playmaking, it’s just moreso what I’m asked to do,” he said during his introductory press conference.
“I think that’s the biggest thing is I’m definitely a team guy, I definitely wanna win.”
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