Russell Westbrook
The failure of Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles is not Westbrook’s fault whatsoever, as he has been thrown into a situation that was doomed to fail before it even began.
Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis are all future Hall-of-Famers and are all terrific talents in their own right, but Westbrook cannot play with either of these two simply because he needs the ball to be effective.
It is quite possible that he could fit in next to Anthony Davis and the two superstars could figure out a way to make things work with Westbrook being the primary facilitator, but there is no scenario in which Russell Westbrook can find success next to LeBron James on the floor together.
James is one of the best facilitators and playmakers in NBA history and while taking the ball out of his hands makes Westbrook a better overall play, this would cost the Lakers because of the fact that LeBron would not have the ball now.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: LeBron James Will Not Let Lakers Drag Him Down With Them
This situation with Westbrook and James on the floor together really is kind of like a balancing scale that will never balance out, simply because they are identical in the fact of being true playmakers with the ball in their hands.
Unless the Lakers are able to bring Russell Westbrook off the bench and use a “platoon system” moving forward, he is useless to them, which is why they must move him in the offseason.
Not only have the Lakers already tried to trade Westbrook already at the trade deadline an few weeks back, but it now seems like the nine-time All-Star wants out of Los Angeles, as long-time NBA insider Marc Stein recently wrote, “There has been no shortage of defiance behind the scenes, I’m told, when coaches and teammates have tried to broach changes in role or approach with the former MVP. For all the obvious complexities involved in trying to move Westbrook when he’s owed a whopping $47 million next season at age 34, one league source described the idea of bringing him back next season as “impossible” based on current tension levels.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: LeBron James Will Not Let Lakers Drag Him Down With Them
Finding a trade involving Russell Westbrook will be extremely hard, as there are just a couple of teams in the league that can actually bring in a $47 million contract in the offseason, but the Lakers need to just settle with their losses and get rid of Westbrook for whatever they can get back.
The longer he is on their roster, the longer they will have a financial problem on their hands and the longer they will not be able to find success on the floor because of egos and style of play not matching up with one another.
