“Throughout the course of the college season, Dalton, besides Bronny, was my favorite player,” said LeBron James, following the LA Lakers‘ NBA draft performance. Well, these aren’t just words thrown around for the sake of it. Considering the locker room turmoil that the team went through in the last few seasons, this could be a well-thought-out decision. Moreover, the team’s HC JJ Redick seemed to have brought everything under control before the start of the season, as the rookie revealed an interesting locker room update.

During Darvin Ham’s tenure at the Lakeshow, the locker room went through a lot of grimy affairs. Especially, when Russell Westbrook joined the side, the former MVP made a huge dent before making his way to the LA Clippers side. Similarly, Ham’s coaching style created a turbulent situation, which forced the rumor mills to speculate about LeBron James’ exit. Nevertheless, before we go into the details of it, let’s find out how the LA side has transformed post-Ridick’s inclusion.

When JJ Redick took over the office, he promised that he rebuild the Lakers roster and focus more on player development. Moreover, a report stated that LeBron James considered signing Redick in 2020 or 2021 to strengthen the roster. Nevertheless, now he has almost achieved what he set out to do. At least, that’s what the rookie, Dalton Knecht said. ESPN got hold of the Tennessee sensation on Media Day and asked an important question.

The crew asked Knecht whether the veterans of the teams had begun to give the rookies a hard time. Instantly, the 23-year-old said, “Not yet I hope not. I hope that’s it. I hope this is how it is.” While Dalton might’ve gotten away with the pester, Bronny did face a bit of a rookie treatment from his dad on Media Day. Jokes apart, the Lakers seemed to have moved away from their past troubles.

Following the 2020 championship glory, the Lakers haven’t made a significant impact in the postseason, except for reaching the Conference Finals in 2o24. And, they lost it 0-4 to the Denver Nuggets. However, during this time, the locker room went through a bit of testing time.

It began during Russell Westbrook’s brief stay on the side. The star point guard definitely wasn’t impressed with his role on the side. Eventually, it reflected in the locker room. While it remained under the rug for some time, it suddenly blew up when an anonymous player described the situation.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that someone in the Lakers’ locker room described Westbrook as a vampire.  McMenamin’s report read, “As one source told me, ‘You remove a vampire from the locker room.’ That meaning a vampire sucks the blood out of the locker room and Russell Westbrook moves on.” However, the situation came under control following the star’s exit in the 2023 trade deadline.

At the same time, the locker room discrepancies continued. The players weren’t impressed by Ham’s decision to find a suitable starting lineup for the side. Nevertheless, with JJ Redick in place, let’s hope that the Lakers locker room, stays in tune with the head coach.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.