LOS ANGELES: (From left) General manager Rob Pelinka, Russell Westbrook and head coach Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers pose for a picture during a press conference at Staples Center on Tuesday in Los Angeles, California. - AFP

LOS ANGELES: Star guard Russell Westbrook says his role with his new Los Angeles Lakers teammates will be simple -- and it includes making things easier for superstar LeBron James. The Lakers landed the Westbrook in a blockbuster deal with the Washington Wizards with hopes of a "Big Three" lineup of James, Westbrook and Anthony Davis could push them back to the top in 2022 after they relinquished the NBA title in 2021. On Tuesday Westbrook was officially introduced, the Southern California native saying it was a "blessing" to land in Los Angeles where had many memories of Lakers glory.

"I'm coming to a championship caliber team and my job is make sure that I'm able to make (James's) game easy for him, and I'll find ways to do that throughout the game," Westbrook vowed. "As it pertains to ball handling and all that, it really doesn't matter. There are many different ways you can impact the game without having the ball in your hands."

James and Davis led the Lakers to the 2019 NBA title, but their push for a repeat was hindered by injury. Westbrook was the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player with Oklahoma City, where he played from 2008 through 2019. He was traded to Houston then traded last December to Washington, where he helped the Wizards reach the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

The Nine-time NBA All-Star, who won Olympic gold in 2012, has led the NBA in assists in three of the past four seasons and was the league scoring champion in 2015 and 2017. In 2017 he set a record with 42 triple doubles in a season -- amassing double-digit stats in points, assists and rebounds -- in 42 games -- and joined Oscar Robertson as the only players to average a triple double for a full campaign.

Westbrook managed the feat in three of the next four seasons as well, his record career tally of triple doubles now standing at 184. But despite the relentless Westbrook's all-around excellence, his teams have combined to win just one playoff series in the last five years. Some pundits have wondered how he'll mesh with James and Davis. Westbrook said that won't be a problem. "I'm always looking at the roster and seeing how I can make other guys better," he said.

Schroder joins Celtics

Elsewhere, German point guard Dennis Schroder said he is signing a one-year contract with the Boston Celtics, ending a one-year spell with the Los Angeles Lakers. "I'm proud to announce that for the 2021-22 season I'll be playing with the Boston Celtics!" Schroder wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. "This is one of the best franchises in NBA history and a honor to put on the green and white and do what I love! I'm going out there every night and leaving it all on the floor for the city!! Who's ready?!"

ESPN reported Schroder's free agent deal with the Celtics is for the $5.9 million mid-level exception, and it comes after he reportedly turned down a four-year, $84 million extension offer from the Lakers in March to see if he could do better as a free agent.

The 27-year-old arrived in Los Angeles in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder prior to last season. He averaged 15.4 points per game for the Lakers in a season that saw him miss two weeks late in the campaign because of the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The Lakers, who won the 2020 NBA title in the league's quarantine bubble in Orlando, were eliminated in the first round of the 2021 playoffs by the Phoenix Suns. In Boston, Schroder will bolster a Celtics team that traded four-time All-Star point guard Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City. - AFP