The Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to trade for Russell Westbrook raised some controversy around the NBA community. Given his history of failure in the playoffs and his ball dominance, the fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis was quite questionable.
Some hoped that the Lakers’ talented players would just figure out how to coexist and bring the best out of each other. But even when they’ve been all healthy— which has rarely happened, they just don’t mesh well together.
Even so, it seems like Rob Pelinka and company are reluctant to give up on the Westbrook experiment. According to Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN, that’s why they didn’t pull the trigger on a move during the trade deadline.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne Says The Lakers Aren’t Ready To Give Up On Russell Westbrook
(transcript via Silver Screen & Roll)
“But I think the Lakers are not ready to pull the ripcord on that Russell Westbrook experiment,” Shelburne said on the“Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective” podcast. “I think they feel like the team, the coach, the coaching staff, everybody has not done enough to say this isn’t going to work. Russell Westbrook is a future Hall of Famer. There are different ways that he can be used.
By the way, some of this is on Russ, too. Russ can still change more, too. But I think they feel like they gave up so much to get him and he is a really talented player if used correctly and he has not been used in any kind of way he’s comfortable with or has been used or been good before. We can argue forever about whose fault it is. I would say it’s a lot of both. Some of it’s just reality. You’re playing with LeBron now and it’s a different setup for him than he’s ever been in. I think they just feel like you can’t keep changing all the time and especially… change for change’s sake. That’s some of the phrasing I’ve heard. ‘Let’s not make a change to make a change. Let’s make a change when we know it’s going to make us a lot better.’”
No one can deny Westbrook’s talent and ability to make an impact. The setting isn’t ideal but he’s also failed to take a deep look in the mirror and accept that he’s got to change his game to help the Lakers’ title hopes.
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