Over the past one and a half seasons, Russell Westbrook has been the biggest scapegoat for the Lakers’ failures.
While his fit with the team was admittedly rough from the start, Russ was far from the only problem, and his departure is far from the only solution they needed to become a contender.
Still, the narrative has been that Russ was a huge burden to the team, with some reports going so far as to label him as a ‘vampire’ in the locker room.
Whether true or not, the smear campaign has been running in full force since the trade, and not everyone is a huge fan of the way it’s gone down. Speaking on ‘The Athletic NBA Show,’ NBA Insider Mo Dakhil ripped the organization for letting all the stories leak about Westbrook.
“That was really shitty from the Lakers, considering how much they talk about ‘We care about our players,’ and all of this bullshit that they throw out there. As soon as Russ leaves, they immediately start unloading all the bad stories and things like that. That’s just a complete bullshit, bush league job from the organization when they went out of their way to go get him, and everyone was telling them from the beginning it was a f**ked up trade.”
Russ isn’t just some washed role-player, he’s an All-Star and former MVP who accepted a bench role to help his team win. While the product on the court was not up to par, you can’t say Westbrook didn’t try to make the most of his time with the franchise.
What’s Next For Russ After Lakers Exit?
After being traded to the Jazz, Westbrook is expected to reach a buyout with the team and will hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in years. Both the Clippers and the Bulls have emerged as favorites to sign the future Hall of Famer.
“If he gets out into the buyout market, there is significant interest in Westbrook,” said Adrian Wojnarowski. “I think one team you got to watch and I think will be a frontrunner are the Chicago Bulls. Billy Donovan certainly coached Westbrook in Oklahoma City. If you go further down his bench, Mo Cheeks, Josh Longstaff… There is a staff of former OKC assistants who all had good relationships and worked well with Westbrook with the Bulls. (via Real GM).”
Westbrook’s next stop may be his last chance to succeed in the NBA. If he fails on his next team, it could be the end of his career for good.
But Russ isn’t going anywhere right now, and it will be interesting to see if he can get some revenge on his former team before it’s all said and done.
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