The Los Angeles Lakers may not have made the Cinderella run fans hoped for, but they still have several positives to reflect on.
Rob Pelinka called the 2022-23 season a year of advancement and growth for the Lakers and now he and Darvin Ham will be tasked with improving the roster to get it over the hump.
Despite their season ending less than two weeks ago, Pelinka said the work to prepare for the 2023-24 season has already begun.
“I think for me it’s just again, it’s all about the work here,” Pelinka said. “I think none of us really get caught up in the accolades. I think we just stay focused on the work and if you stay focused on the work the results come. As Darvin and I were walking up to the stage in the back I said, ‘Campaign No. 2 starts today.’ And we have the 17th pick in the draft, we have the 47th pick in the draft.
“We pivot from the growth and learning lessons of this season to now building towards next year and making sure our advancements continue. But I think to me, it’s if you stay focused on that work and you pour yourself into it the results will come and that’s where my head is.”
Ham echoed Pelinka’s sentiments and added that he’s looking forward to the challenge of building the team and making it better than it was. “Same for me. Again, Rob said it. If you don’t…as far as you go I’m thankful. I’m really humbled by how far we were able to go after such a challenging start, but again we didn’t come here just to win a number of amount of games or make it through the first round or go deep in the playoffs. We came together to make history and that process is ongoing and I have all the faith in the world.
“And Rob, and he and I getting together really going through the roster, going through the opportunities that’s out there starting with the draft to add to this team and continue to trampoline from this season and not just be satisfied because we turned it around in this first year. No, this is a step-by-step process and I’m looking forward to working with Rob and Jeanie and building something special and really getting to the ultimate point of achieving our goal and that’s number 18 once again.”
The path to the franchise’s 18th championship is going to be a tough one, but with most of the pieces in place Pelinka and Ham have a great foundation to work with.
Darvin Ham guarantees Lakers will be problem to be dealt with
Ham has plenty to be proud of considering how close he and the Lakers got to the Finals. The head coach had no problem giving the Denver Nuggets their praise, but he also guaranteed that his team would be a problem to deal with next year.
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