Lakers’ Russell Westbrook Says He Didn’t Fetch Comely Likelihood, Calls Out ‘Made-Up’ Reports
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Sometime of his exit press convention on Monday, Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook did now not retain abet in his assessment of a disappointing season.
Westbrook told journalists he felt like he “never had a honest probability on the basketball entrance or any entrance” since he arrived in Los Angeles final offseason. Westbrook additionally acknowledged “made-up reports” had been something he had to fight by incompatibility year, although he declined to give any examples.
By his requirements, Westbrook had a subpar year for a Lakers crew that accomplished 33-49 and did now not even qualify for the play-in tournament. The 2016-17 NBA MVP averaged 18.5 sides, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.4 p.c from the self-discipline and 29.8 p.c from three-point fluctuate.
It was the third-lowest scoring sensible of Westbrook’s occupation. He admitted that he was “too relaxed at cases, to be fully neutral loyal” playing in his home metropolis of Los Angeles.
Westbrook has a participant possibility rate $47.1 million for next season. It could perchance probably almost definitely also be assumed that he would now not are seeking to expose down that money, nonetheless he spoke back “I admire never thought that a long way into the rest” when requested if he would explain the probability.
Anybody who watched the Lakers play this year could almost definitely almost definitely explore they had a disjointed roster that did now not in fact match collectively. Westbrook was expected to be a portion of a “Immense Three” alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, nonetheless Los Angeles went accurate 11-10 within the 21 video games all three of them conducted collectively. James and Davis uncared for critical time all year long as a end result of of accidents.
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
When @DanWoikeSports mentions that LeBron and AD acknowledged continuously all year long, “Let Russ be Russ,” Russell Westbrook loyal now responds: “Yeah, nonetheless that wasn’t accurate. Let’s be neutral loyal.”
There had been a couple of cases all by the season when Westbrook was benched all the plot by crunch time with the sport aloof on the freeway. He was requested about his relationship with the now-fired head coach Frank Vogel, and Westbrook acknowledged: “I’m now not certain what his convey was with me… That is something that he has to retort to.”
After his candidness all the plot by his exit interview, it will perchance almost definitely almost definitely now not be a shock if Westbrook’s tenure in Los Angeles doesn’t final previous this season.