The Los Angeles Lakers officially parted ways with Frank Vogel on Monday as the franchise looks to address the various problems they had during the season. The player at the center of most of the criticism this season was Russell Westbrook, and despite some suggestions that they might try to run it back with their current Big 3, Westbrook has been linked with trades to various organizations, primarily the Charlotte Hornets.
Whether a trade can or will be worked out is likely to be seen after the postseason comes to an end, but for now, Westbrook seems to have the vote of confidence from LeBron James. As per Magic Johnson, LeBron was very much one of the reasons the Lakers moved for Russ in the first place, and now James has spoken about how he likes being teammates with Westbrook in his exit interview on Monday.
"I'm not going to sit here and make decisions for the front office … but I love being a teammate with Russ."
LeBron shows Russ love in his exit interview
(via @CBSSportsHQ)pic.twitter.com/WCKgRGKUle
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 11, 2022
“One thing about Russ that I’ll love, that I’ll always love, is his competitive spirit that he brings every single night… To have a guy that’s reliable and can put on the uniform every single night, you have to respect that.
“I’m not going to sit here and make decisions for the front office … but I love being a teammate with Russ.”
LeBron saying he won’t make decisions for the front office is an interesting line, considering the aforementioned involvement he had in bringing Russ to Los Angeles ahead of the season. It’s unlikely that any major roster decision will be made without James’ consent, but obviously, the man himself wouldn’t say that to the media.
As for Westbrook, his stats have fallen across the board this season, and whether that is a general regression or an outlier is something the Lakers will have to evaluate before making any decision regarding the point guard. What they do next is anybody’s guess, at this point.
