Russell Westbrook is coming off the worst season of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. After the Lakers controversially gave up a lot of their team’s depth to acquire him in 2021, the team was hopeful that the former MVP would be able to fit in the Lakers system alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Based on how the Lakers played with Westbrook, everyone came to the conclusion that the fit wasn’t working. With Westbrook refusing to accept a smaller role on the team, it’s made him an asset that the Lakers need to trade away as soon as possible.
Despite the narratives on how Westbrook negatively impacted the Lakers, the statistics show that he was one of their most impactful players. He led the team in multiple statistical categories, like assists, rebounds, steals, and free throws made. He also played the most games out of any Laker last season.
Statistics don’t always tell the full story. Westbrook is known for his ability to put up numbers. What has been questioned repeatedly is whether his style of basketball is conducive to winning in the NBA. A lot of these stats being topped by Russ also shows the wildly inconsistent depth around Russ, Anthony Davis, and LeBron.
The blame for the 2021-22 Lakers season should have never fallen squarely on Russ. Everyone on the team played a part in the disappointing season. The biggest price has already been paid by Frank Vogel, who was fired almost immediately after the Lakers season ended.
Strong team depth can enable other players to have that statistical impact too. If Russ has a reduced role, LeBron can easily lead the team in assists as well, he has done the same before. Anthony Davis, with a good spell of health, should be the rebounding leader. If the Lakers were relying on Russ to provide on all those fronts as a 3rd option, it goes to show how they missed the mark with the roster last season, with 10 players from last season still sitting as free agents.
