It was quite the NBA season from hell for Russell Westbrook and the Lakers.
Expectations started off sky high in sunny Los Angeles, upon acquiring the former MVP from the Washington Wizards last summer. Westbrook was the guy LeBron James and Anthony Davis had vouched for. His arrival signaled the birth of a new ‘Big 3’ – and an expected return to the finals for the Lakers.
Whilst the move for Westbrook did also have its skeptics. The Lakers started the 2021/22 campaign with the second highest odds of winning a Championship according to Vegas. Along with an over/under for wins set at a lofty 52.5.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers instead proceeded to win only 33 games for the year and miss out on the post-season completely. As the Westbrook experiment in Los Angeles quickly became seen as an abject failure.
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Relatively tight-lipped regarding his own-play for much of the year – instead choosing to focus attention on the team’s collective goal. Westbrook finally revealed his thoughts on his performance for the Lakers following this season’s conclusion:
“Just my play in general, not my best season, just going off my own personal scale,” Westbrook said. “Obviously I’m coming off averaging a triple-double, so anything less than that would not be a good season for me in my eyes, you know what I’m saying? So that’s why the scale of where it comes from is a little bit different.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: NBA Insider Reveals Surprising Lakers’ Russell Westbrook Trade Suitor
From his quotes, it’s clear that Westbrook truly values his numbers. And would perhaps also prefer to play a style of basketball he’s more accustomed to. With the ball in his hands.
Ultimately, missing the playoffs entirely after having such grand expectations coming into the season means that a seismic shakeup is more than likely on the cards in LA. The Los Angeles Lakers have already removed Frank Vogel as coach. And are expected to be willing to do whatever it takes to also move Westbrook.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: NBA Insider Reveals Surprising Lakers’ Russell Westbrook Trade Suitor
With NBA rumors already circling around potential suitors – the smart money would be on Russell Westbrook packing his bags and moving on to a new city for a fourth time in four years.
