Russell Westbrook has had a rough time over the last year after the spectacular disaster that was his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook played well below expectations, and the Lakers had seen more than enough, as they were desperately trying to ship him away this offseason.
Ultimately, no move materialized as there was no deal that they particularly liked and he looks set to play a big role for the team this upcoming season. Despite all those rumors, Westbrook has promised he is all-in on whatever it takes for the team to win and is even willing to accept a role off the bench if that’s what it takes.
Russell Westbrook Says He Is Not Even Close To Being Done In The NBA
Considering all his struggles, there was a lot of chatter this offseason that Westbrook’s time in the NBA might be coming to an end. Bill Simmons stated that Russ would be out of the league if he was traded to the Jazz, and Simmons was just one of many people to say things along those lines. Westbrook dismissed all of that chatter during a recent interview, as he stated he is far from being done.
via ESPN:
“I’m not even close to being done,” Westbrook said. “I’m super grateful and blessed to be able to go compete year after year, and that’s all I can do is prepare myself, my mind, my body for as long as I play. …
“I’m going to make mistakes. I’m [occasionally] not going to have good games. There will be times and stretches when I don’t play well. I’ve owned that, and there were times last year that I could’ve played better, and I own that part of it. Moving into this year, I feel even more prepared than I was in years past. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most. That, right there, will get me past any struggles that come my way.”
Ask Westbrook whether he thinks he’ll deliver a surprising performance this season, and he laughs and pauses: “In my mind, no, but … I guess in other people’s minds? Yeah, I guess it might be surprising to other people.”
It takes a lot of belief in yourself to get to the top, as Westbrook has gotten, and that belief is still going strong. He did acknowledge that he didn’t play well, and now it is up to him to improve next season.
Westbrook believes he can surprise people with his play in 2022-23, but you do wonder how viable that is for him as he tries to fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It didn’t work out at all last season, but Westbrook is confident on that front as well, as he feels their Big 3 can be unstoppable. We’ll find out soon enough just how good they can be.
