If the talk comes to fruition, and Darvin Ham’s first impression as the Lakers head coach turns out to be a lasting one, his team not only will be successful again but more fun to watch.

It will be a team where the stars matter, but so will the supporting players. It will be an offense that prizes ball movement. a defensive structure that is rock solid, and connectivity between the two.

And this might be the most important: It will be an environment where LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook (presumably, and we’ll get into that shortly) won’t have to guess about where they stand, and where constructive criticism won’t be a dagger to the ego. As we said the night he was hired, Ham is not afraid to speak the NBA’s version of truth to power.

He learned quickly, after all. Ham recalled Monday that in his first tour with the Lakers, 2011-13 on Mike Brown’s staff and then Mike D’Antoni’s, he and Kobe Bryant went round-and-round a few times.

“Oh, man, it was great,” Ham said. “And God rest his soul, man, we spent a lot of time together on the practice floor, individual workouts, watching film and watching clips. And if I can go back and forth with him and have him disagree with me and then double back and tell me how I was right, we all know how stubborn he was, man. It just gave me a wealth of confidence in myself as a coach, just … him sharing with me the different ways he saw the game.”

Since then, he noted, he’s coached guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Al Horford, and he learned quickly what works best.

“It’s a two-way street. It’s not just this coach that thinks he knows it all and he’s just barking orders,” Ham said. “You have to be able to collaborate, communicate and understand each other and not your way or my way. But what’s the best way to go for it? What’s the best plan for all of us?

“… (Superstars), they’re not great by mistake and they want to be able to do something. I know all of them feel this way. They want to be able to do something collectively that’s great. Put another banner in this building. And it starts right now.”

Here’s a potential hint that the relationship between the Lakers and Westbrook can be salvaged. Russ was on hand for the introduction at the Lakers’ facility on Monday, and Ham used the news conference as an advertisement for his talents.

“Russell – don’t get it messed up. Russ is one of the best players our league has ever seen, and there’s still a ton left in that tank,” Ham said. “I don’t know why people tend to try to write him off.”

I think you can assume that the selling point, the factor above all that made Ham what VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka called “a unanimous choice” for the coach search committee to recommend to Jeanie Buss, was his explanation of how he intended to enhance Westbrook’s productivity. In all likelihood, Ham’s priorities probably won’t be that far removed from Frank Vogel’s, but the difference might be the way the message is both delivered and received.

There was another surprising word that came out of his conversations with Westbrook.

“We’re going to sacrifice, whatever we got to do,” Ham said. “And it’s not just Russ. There’s going to be sacrifices that LeBron has to make, that A.D. has to make, on down the line through the rest of our roster.

“… Defensively, can we contain, can we contest, can we control the rebound? Offensively, can we run with pace and our running habits? Can we run with space and have a force and a physicality to the way we play, predicated on ball and body movement? You have to preach those principles until you’re blue in the face. And (there’s) going to be times where, you know, we’re going to have philosophical disagreements and we may have to get out on the floor and walk through some stuff over and over and over again.”

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There might be an emphasis on toughness, and that shouldn’t be a surprise. Ham grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and let’s just say when you grow up there, you’d better develop a spine fast. (The Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, another Saginaw guy, would second that thought.)

The supposed pressure of taking over a team where championships are the only currency that matters and Lakers Exceptionalism is assumed by the fan base? Bah. 

“I was shot in the face by accident, April 5th, 1988,” Ham said. “You go through something like that, it’s going to do one of two things. It’s gonna make you fearful or fearless. It made me fearless.

“I don’t feel no pressure. It’s basketball.”

That might be the perfect attitude with which to lead this franchise.

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Lakers players Russell Westbrook, center, and Austin Reaves, right, look on as new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham talks to reporters during his introductory press conference on Monday in El Segundo. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)