The Los Angeles Lakers had high hopes when they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards last NBA offseason. There’s an expectation that major changes will be in store, and they wasted no time getting to work by firing former coach Frank Vogel on Monday.
The underwhelming season that Russell Westbrook put together made him a target of significant criticism. He made it clear he felt Frank Vogel had a problem with him, but didn’t understand why that was the case — stating they ‘really never connected.’
“I think it’s unfortunate, to be honest because I’ve never had an issue with any of my coaches before,” Westbrook said. “I’m not sure what his issue was with me or I’m not sure why, but I can’t really give you an answer to why we really never connected.”
While it’s important for the point guard and the coach to be on the same page, it’s also important for a player commanding such significant offensive responsibility to come ready to execute. He routinely went viral for launching shots off the backboard and was inefficient as a scorer once again.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: NBA Insider Reveals Surprising Lakers Russell Westbrook Trade Suitor
Westbrook wasn’t the only problem the Lakers had that limited their success. However, a lack of personal accountability was a theme in his account for what went wrong with the team. He even attempted to take jabs at the media for ‘made-up stories’ that consistently came out about him throughout the season.
“The famous ‘source’ stories that came out about myself, whether it be between me and the staff, me and Frank, me and the fans, there’s just so many made-up stories that are not true,” Westbrook said. “It’s just always having to fight against that constantly. It’s just not [being] given a fair chance. It’s like, ‘OK, now I got to fight against this made-up story. Now I got to fight against this one. Now I go to fight against this one. Now I got to fight against this one.'”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: NBA Insider Reveals Surprising Lakers Russell Westbrook Trade Suitor
The Los Angeles Lakers will need to decide what’s next for Russell Westbrook before the 2022-23 NBA season. Much of the supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis needs to be changed. Will it include the former All-Star point guard?
