Russell Westbrook is arguably at the lowest point of his NBA career. The once super energetic player has lost his touch of playing basketball at an elite level. He has arguably declined a lot since joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
Considering the fact that he is no longer the first option on the team has played a crucial role in his downfall. Westbrook has been trying his best to adjust to this new role, but all his efforts have gone in vain so far.
He has played like a shell of himself in the first three games of the 2022-23 NBA season. As expected, Brodie has struggled to shoot jumpers, which has resulted in Russ shooting just 28.9% from the field. It’s even more surprising since he is the least contested jump shooter in the NBA since the 2013-14 NBA season.
Russell Westbrook jumpers have been contested only 41.2% of the time.@SecondSpectrum says it’s the lowest contest rate in NBA tracking data history (since 2013). Over a full season only Andre Roberson and Joakim Noah were below 50%.
More on the Lakers: https://t.co/Tyqf0PeTFt
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) October 24, 2022
While he has only played three games this season, fans of the organization are already fed up with him and want the Lakers to trade him as soon as possible.
NBA Analyst Kevin O’Connor Gives A Reality Check To The Lakers
Lakers fans aren’t the only faction that has called out Westbrook. A plethora of NBA analysts have been brutally honest about Westbrook’s struggles in a Lakers uniform. So much so that many believe if the Lakers want to succeed this season, they need to trade Russ immediately.
NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor became the most recent analyst to sing the same tune about Westbrook’s future with the Lakers.
Via The Ringer:
“Russell Westbrook is a washed-up bricklayer who needs to be traded immediately for the Los Angeles Lakers to have any chance of saving their season.
It’s been only three games, but the Lakers are winless and their schedule doesn’t ease up over the next month. Westbrook isn’t the only problem, but he’s by far their biggest and most glaring one.”
He added, “Westbrook has made only 38.3 percent of his midrange jumpers in his career, and the number has dipped further since he joined the Lakers. He’s gone from bad to worse, and now defenders treat him like he isn’t even on the court. Through three games this season, opponents are contesting jump shots by Westbrook only 41.2 percent of the time. According to Second Spectrum, that’s by far the lowest contest rate in NBA tracking data history, which dates back to 2013-14.
That’s not pretty much it, though. To put Westbrook’s 41.2 percent contest rate in perspective, only two other players on record have had less than 50 percent of their jumpers contested: Joakim Noah, at 48.7 percent in 2013-14 with the Bulls, and Andre Roberson, at 48.8 percent during the 2016-17 season with the Thunder. This season, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon’s 60 percent contest rate is the league’s second lowest behind Westbrook’s.
Kevin O’Connor made it absolutely clear in his report about Westbrook that he is the most glaring reason behind the Lakers’ struggles early into the season. The analyst has suggested that the Lakers need to trade him as soon as possible. But are there any legitimate trade options for the Purple and Gold?
“ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that a trade involving Westbrook isn’t likely until after Thanksgiving. That’s around the same time that Dennis Schröder, who at this point is undoubtedly a better point guard than Westbrook, could return from his thumb surgery.
When that time comes, Los Angeles will explore trade combinations with the Pacers that involve center Myles Turner and/or wing Buddy Hield. Those talks are currently on hold, but Turner and Hield would both add much-needed shooting, and Turner would provide rim-protection depth behind the oft-injured Davis.
Utah has been connected to the Lakers for months, too. League sources say that before the Jazz sent Bojan Bogdanovic to the Pistons, the Lakers offered Westbrook, a future first-round pick, and second-rounders for Bogdanovic and others. Sources expect the Lakers and Jazz to resume talks later in the season with some combination of other players discussed. (Utah has Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gay—three veterans who can all shoot.)”
As per O’Connor, these are the only legitimate trade destinations for the former NBA MVP. At the end of the day, the Lakers would still prefer if Russ could somehow find his form in the coming weeks and help the team make a comeback. But looking at Westbrook’s first three games this season, the chances of that happening are pretty low.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shc2dhYEe_Y
