The Los Angeles Lakers made perhaps the biggest move of the NBA offseason, adding Russell Westbrook to a championship-caliber team. Needless to say, that drew plenty of contrasting takes.
Some people believe that Westbrook was far from a good fit for the Lakers. Others say that he, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis are all so talented that they'll figure out how to play together.
That seems to be the case with Lakers coach Frank Vogel, as he recently explained how involved he was in the trade talks for the former Oklahoma City Thunder star, as well as lauding his work ethic and competitive nature.
Lakers News: Frank Vogel Raves About Russell Westbrook's Addition, Says He's "Desperate" To Play
(Transcript via Lakers Nation)
“Very engaged, very involved,” Vogel said. “Rob Pelinka and Kurt Rambis do a great job enlisting my insight on what these personnel moves would look like and what I’m in favor of. Very collaborative in that way and obviously a great deal of excitement when you can add a player the caliber of Russell Westbrook.
You want as much firepower as you can get to battle what we’re about to battle and when you get in these playoff wars, you need firepower. This guy is the ultimate competitor, he’s desperate, very much wants to be in that position to win a championship. That’s the one thing he’s not accomplished in his career and he’s in position to do that. Then once you got that main piece in place, then it becomes, OK, how do we fill out the rest of the roster? You’re basically only gonna have minimum contracts, mid-level exception, limited cap space and can you get guys to commit to you that could make more money elsewhere but are really sold and want to sacrifice because they see that there’s a real chance to win a championship here and to play with these three great players. So the rest of it comes together.”
Competitiveness or a lack of effort have never been the issue with Russell Westbrook. If anything, he's a never-ending source of energy and a guy who always plays with a chip on his shoulder.
Hopefully, he'll finally learn from his mistakes and doesn't try to overdo things when the game is on the line, as he has a big opportunity to win the ring he deserves so much once and for all.
