Back in the offseason when the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook, most people around NBA circles thought they were making a mistake. More than a month of the season has gone by and he’s done little to change those people’s minds.
Westbrook, who has never been efficient, isn’t even scoring at the same pace he used to. He’s playing the worst defense of his career, and he failed to lead the team when LeBron James sat out with an injury.
That’s why his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kendrick Perkins said that he should take a page out of Chris Paul’s book and try to be more of a floor general instead of focusing on his stats.
Kendrick Perkins Says Russell Westbrook Needs To Be Like Chris Paul
“It’s not about the triple-doubles no more,” Perkins said on ESPN’s First Take. “Can you turn the damn corner and win basketball games?Can you cut down on the turnovers and win basketball games?Can you go out there and lead a team, be the ultimate floor general and win basketball games?When you look at Russ, and you look at CP3 that’s the difference. CP3, he goes out there and he wins basketball games.”
Shaq Also Thinks Westbrook Needs To Change His Game
This isn’t the first time that a former NBA player calls him out and urges him to make adjustments. Not so long ago, Shaquille O’Neal urged him to change his game and adapt to what the team needs:
“He is going to have to figure out ways to make an impact without being on the ball all the time,”the Hall of Famersaid.“His whole career, he has been either number one or number two, now he is number three or four.(…) He has to push the pace. When they miss, he should be the first one on the court trying to get layups. When he gets the ball, he should be aggressive.”
Westbrook is what he is at this point in his career. He’s always been like that and he’s unlikely to change now. But in reality, this is far from what Frank Vogel and theLakers expected and needed from him.