Frank Vogel and Russell Westbrook starred in a controversial moment on Wednesday night when the head coach benched the point guard in the final 3 minutes of the Lakers-Pacers game.
Brodie didn’t have the best game, once again raising eyebrows around the Lakers Nation with his performance. Westbrook has been under fire since the start of the season given his inability to help the Lakers win games in a consistent way.
Following an impressive game against the Utah Jazz on Monday, Westbrook and the Lakers regressed their level, losing against a struggling Pacers team. Frank Vogel needed to make big changes, taking Westbrook out of the game in the final minutes of the 4th quarter, which didn’t sit well with the player.
Westbrook left the arena without talking to the media, which could mean he’s unhappy with his current situation on the Lakers. While some might think this would create some issues for the team, Vogel’s decision was reportedly supported by the Lakers’ management.
Long before Russell Westbrook was benched down the stretch of Wednesday’s 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel was given assurances that the organization would support him in taking a hard line while coaching the star, sources told ESPN.
Over the past week and a half, Lakers management has told the coaching staff to coach Westbrook as they see fit, even if that means pulling him from a game, as Vogel did for the final 3 minutes, 52 seconds of the fourth quarter against Indiana, sources told ESPN.
One source close to the situation described the message from management to the staff as, “You got to do what you got to do.”
Westbrook was 5-for-17 from the field when Vogel put in Malik Monk for him with L.A. trailing 101-94.
The team’s front office is ready to make major changes to the roster. Recent reports suggest they could try to make a move for Westbrook, whose market is nonexistent at this moment. This could be the beginning of the end for Russ on the Lakers, but that’s a really long shot right now.
He needs to find a way to be impactful for these Lakers. Everybody has tried to help him in recent weeks, but nothing seems to work for the 2017 NBA MVP. It remains to be seen how this situation unfolds and what the future holds for Westbrook.
