The Lakers seemed to have high expectations when they traded for Russell Westbrook last year. However, things never worked out and, though it took them long, Los Angeles eventually found him a new home.
Russ, who ended up staying in LA as he joined the Clippers after agreeing to a buyout with Utah, was constantly blamed for the Lakers’ struggles. After a poor first season, Darvin Ham had a change of plans and removed him from the starting lineup this season.
Even so, his fate was sealed. Many wonder what went wrong, whether it was the Lakers’ fault or if Brodie simply left much to be desired. According to Austin Rivers, the Lakers were unfair with Westbrook by making him a scapegoat forall their problems.
Austin Rivers blames Lakers for Russell Westbrook
“You know how that is over there on that team,” Rivers said, via ClutchPoints. “They’re gonna find an answer and it ain’t gonna be some other people. It’s gonna be him. I think Russ was just a person at the wrong place at the wrong time and the wrong situation.
“He played well, the guy’s a first ballot of Hall-of-Famer, they asked him to come off the bench, no problems, comes off the bench, has a good energy about it, good attitude about it, what else do y’all want from the man? They got a lot of things going wrong in terms of like why they weren’t winning before. It wasn’t just Russ.”
Rivers has a point. When a team has so many problems, you cannot blame just one player. Still, the Lakers seem better off without him, while Westbrook also looks happier since the trade.