At some point in every professional athlete’s career, they come to a crossroads. It is later on in their career and they have to choose whether they want to adapt and change the way they play or risk falling out of the league as younger players look to take their spots. In the NBA, this is something we have seen some high-profile players suffer from.
Players would love to go out on their own terms, but that isn’t always what happens. Allen Iverson is a good example of that as he spent his final professional season playing in Turkey after changing teams four times in his final three seasons in the NBA.
The league seemed to do the same with his Denver Nuggets teammate, Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was seemingly blackballed after a tough stint with the Houston Rockets as he was out of the NBA for basically an entire season. It was clear that he could still perform at a high level, but it was not until the Portland Trail Blazers gave him a chance and he showed he was willing to play a different role did things change for him.
That fork in the road is what Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook came to this season. He was acquired last year from the Washington Wizards in a short-sighted move that didn’t pan out as his skill set doesn’t mesh well with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
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Unable to find a taker for him, Westbrook was brought back for a second season in Los Angeles. However, this time, there was a new sheriff in town, as Darvin Ham was taking over the head coaching position from Frank Vogel.
Ham spent a lot of time this offseason speaking to Westbrook and going over different roles. The two built a strong relationship and Westbrook seemed to trust his decision-making. Looking out for the betterment of the team, Ham decided that Westbrook would start coming off the bench.
It was a move that was attempted in the preseason but Westbrook was injured minutes into it, being listed as out with a hamstring ailment. Was it a hamstring or his ego that was bruised, as Westbrook said the injury occurred because he was not warmed up properly and he didn’t know how to come off the bench.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Russell Westbrook & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
At that point, many people thought it was time for the Lakers to wash their hands of Westbrook and move on. Ham was adamant about at least trying this, so Westbrook has come off the bench for the last two games.
Whatever was told to him worked, as Westbrook put together a great game with the Lakers at full strength against the Denver Nuggets. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, looking as comfortable as ever. With the ball in his hands more, he could play to his strengths instead of trying to remodel his game to fit alongside James and Davis.
It was only one game and there will assuredly be hiccups along the way, but being open to coming off the bench very likely saved Westbrook’s career. Things were certainly looking bleak over the offseason when he shared some questionable quotes, throwing other people under the bus and not taking responsibility for his performance. Every trade rumor that he was involved in ended with him being bought out at the end of it, not playing for the franchise that acquired him.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Russell Westbrook & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
This is a player who is only one season removed from averaging a triple-double, so there is plenty left in the tank there. His future outlook wasn’t bright, but that will change if he is truly committed to helping a team win and is willing to do whatever it takes, especially coming off the bench.
This is essentially an audition for Westbrook for teams to see what he can do in the latter stages of his career. He can still be impactful coming off the bench and there will be teams interested in bringing him on to lead a second unit, especially if he continues finding success as he did against the Nuggets.
