Russell Westbrook has been one of the most criticized athletes in the NBA this season. The combination of Westbrook’s own inconsistent performances and the Los Angeles Lakers being a subpar team has put the spotlight on him.
Part of the reason for Russell Westbrook’s struggles during the season has been his poor fit with the roster. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN has recently revealed that while the plan was for Russell Westbrook “to assume a heavy playmaking role”, the Lakers ended up losing faith in Westbrook as a “ball-handler after the first few weeks” of the season, forcing him into an unfamiliar role off the ball.
The plan coming in was for Westbrook to assume a heavy playmaking role to help alleviate the burden on James, a reasonable position for a player who had been on the ball much of his career. But his decision-making frustrated the coaching staff and teammates almost immediately — Westbrook had 30 turnovers in his first five games.
“I think they lost faith in Russ as a ball handler after the first few weeks,” one team source said. “And he knew it because they took him off the ball and started asking him to stand in the corner or set screens.”
With Westbrook dislodged from his comfort zone on offense, the good intentions from the beginning of the season began to fade — fast.
It is clear that Russell Westbrook was out of his element this season. Perhaps part of that was coaching, and there were recent reports that suggested that Russell Westbrook did not respect Frank Vogel as a coach.
Russell Westbrook did have a really good stretch to finish the season, and if he is still a part of the Lakers’ roster at the start of next season, they’ll need that version of him consistently. Hopefully, Russell Westbrook is able to bounce back after a rough season and show haters that he still has the ability to be a winning player.
