Russell Westbrook has had an incredibly tough year individually in his debut season with the Los Angeles Lakers. There were question marks around Westbrook and his fit with the team from the start of the season, but nobody expected the Lakers to have such a hard time managing it.
However, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have tried distancing themselves from the Lakers not figuring out lineups or rotations to mitigate Westbrook’s lack of spacing and inefficiency as an off-ball player, saying that the Lakers should have let ‘Russ be Russ’,
Westbrook doesn’t feel the situation has played out that way, vocalizing his disagreement with what James and Davis had to say during their exit interviews for the 2021-22 season.
Report: "LeBron & AD were clear on, 'Let Russ be Russ.'"
Russell Westbrook: "Well that wasn't true. Let's be honest."
…
Q: "Did you ever feel like yourself this season?"
Russ: "Ahh… Very rarely. There were times and spurts, but I was just trying to find my way honestly." pic.twitter.com/2CwYvIjwgx
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 11, 2022
Wow. That was a very blunt way of shutting down the public support LeBron and Davis had thrown behind Russ. This more than likely means the 2020 championship duo themselves expressed doubts about Russ. Or, they were a part of the problem in not figuring out how to use him. This is the price you pay when you don’t let Russ be Russ while claiming to everyone that is what you pushed for.
The relationships in LA seem to have completely fried up, with Frank Vogel being sacked. However, Vogel should just be the first domino that leads to changes across the Lakers organization. One of those changes may just be trading Russell Westbrook away. After all the damage that has been done, a split might be the best for all parties involved. Russ and LeBron will maintain their friendship while both can pivot on what they want to achieve on the floor.
A lot of mistrust has developed in the Lakers organization from the turbulence this season. The goodwill from the 2020 championship has completely disappeared and the team faces a massive challenge ahead of re-tooling this team to make a run at the championship next season.
