There may not be a player in the NBA that is under the microscope more this season than Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook. He has been ridiculed for his performance during the 2021-22 season all offseason as people have been writing him off as no longer being a player that can produce at a level to help a team win.
Los Angeles struggled mightily last season, going 33-49. Westbrook’s performance was certainly a part of that, but he was not singularly responsible for the team’s struggles. It wasn’t his fault that LeBron James and Anthony Davis couldn’t stay healthy or that Rob Pelinka decided to fill the roster out with players closer to retirement than their primes.
Despite that, he was the No. 1 target for people’s venom. Could he have tried harder to fit in and be more accommodating to adjusting his style of play, taking responsibility along the way? Sure, he could have. But when ridicule is going beyond the basketball court, that is when a line is being crossed.
There are too many people comfortable making threats to Westbrook and his family on social media. He has become the punch line to a ton of jokes, which is something that his former teammate, Kevin Durant, has seen enough of.
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During a recent interview on the Boardroom via Complex Sports, Durant came to the defense of his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate. He believes the picking on Westbrook has gone too far.
“It’s like now you’re making him the butt of your jokes… I get criticism [on the court], but it’s starting to turn into something else right now.”
Durant does make a good point. If you are going to criticize something that a basketball player is doing, it shouldn’t go beyond the court or the game itself. When it comes to Westbrook, it has gone way beyond that and it is something that his peers are taking notice of.
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Westbrook’s career could very well be hanging in the balance this season. Every trade scenario that he has been involved in results in him being bought out. Unless he is sincere about making some changes, his career could be coming to an abrupt end.
