Throughout his entire career, people have had plenty of things to say about Russell Westbrook. While one of the most gifted and athletic players in the NBA, his lack of championships and playoff success have often raised questions about him.
To make things even worst, Westbrook is one of the highest-paid players in the league, yet he has failed to lead his teams in the postseason. That makes him one of the toughest players to trade around the league.
That’s why plenty of people doubted whether he was the right guy to improve the Los Angeles Lakersroster. And looking by how the team has struggled thus far, he’s done little to silence his critics.
Shannon Sharpe Says Russell Westbrook Is Like A Pretty Single Girl Everyone Wants To Date
Recently, NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe addressed Westbrook’s situation, comparing him to a pretty girl everybody wants to date just to later understand why she was single in the first place:
“Russ is like that pretty girl at a rival school that makes you say if she was my girl, I’ll treat her like a queen and then when you get her, you realize why all the dudes left her,” Sharpe said on Undisputed.
“That’s how Russ is everywhere, everybody,” Sharpe added. “‘Man, look how hard he plays. He rebounds, he assists, yadda, yadda, yadda. And then when you get him, you realize why all the other dudes left said beautiful girl. Now you realize why all the other said teams said ‘nah, we good without you.’ “
Westbrook Shuts Down His Critics… Again
Westbrook, however, has always been unfazed by the criticism. He thinks there’s nothing wrong with the way he’s playing and will never change his ways, regardless of who calls him out or how many times he fails in the playoffs:
“Everybody wants me to do this but then they don’t want me to do this,” Westbrook told reporters.“Honestly, I’m over the whole situation with what everyone else wants me to do and what they think I should be doing.”
“Honestly, I think I’ve been fine,” the guard added. “The conversation has been heavily on how I’m playing and what I’m doing, but I think people are expecting me to have f***ing 25, 15, and 15, which, that is not normal. Everybody has to understand, like, that’s not a normal thing that people do consistently.”
“People are saying ‘let Russ be Russ,’ I think nobody understands what that means. I think people just say it — ‘let Russ be Russ’ — but nobody actually knows what that means but myself. And I’m gonna lean on that and make sure I do what I’m supposed to do. And let everything else outside the locker room, whatever that may be, take care of itself,” Westbrook concluded.
The Lakers should’ve known that this was a part of the Russell Westbrook experience when they traded for him. Now, they’ll have to deal with the aftermath of this move, for better or worse.