Very few players have gone through the sort of changes in a narrative about their game in a year that Russell Westbrook has. Since his move to the Los Angeles Lakers before the start of last season, Westbrook has been ridiculed and criticized endlessly. His stats and play did decline significantly during the season, but to an extent, he has also been made a scapegoat for some of the Lakers’ failings as an organization.
Things seem to be different going into next season, despite much speculation that Westbrook would leave, he remains with the Lakers. He has opted into the final year of his contract and is making upwards of $47 million in the coming year. But not everyone believes the Lakers actually will try to accommodate Russ into their plans, with many still maintaining that he will be traded and then potentially bought out.
However, being bought out has negative connotations attached to it. This is not something that happens to the superstars of Russ’ stature. So some believe that he would simply not agree to such a course of action.
NBA Insider Ramona Shelburne Says Russell Westbrook Wouldn’t Agree To Have His Contract Bought Out
Speaking about the Los Angeles Lakers and their situation on The Lowe Post podcast, Shelburne gave her take on Russell Westbrook’s situation. And the ESPN journalist doesn’t think Westbrook’s personality will let himself be bought out.
“Russell Westbrook is not a buyout guy. You have to agree to a buyout, and that’s not how he is wired. This is a guy who is very proud, and if you accept a buyout once in your career, you’re seen differently throughout the rest of your career.
“Russ is Russ because of his swagger and the way he bleeds with it, the way he plays with it,” she said. “You can’t retreat from that. You can’t let go of that because that’s what made Russ, Russ — it’s his swagger. If he accepts that, then he’s no longer Russell Westbrook.”
There are still suggestions that Russ should be traded to Indiana for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, but it’s hard to tell if they would want him on the roster as they try to rebuild. The issues with Utah are similar, and many teams might be okay with trading for him if he were to take a buyout. However, Shelburne’s insight is accurate, it’s hard to see a player as proud as Westbrook doing something like that.
