The Russell Westbrook situation got out of control as soon as he arrived in Los Angeles. The bad fit was evident from day one in preseason and Anthony Davis' constant injuries didn't do much to ease the Lakers' problems, either.
Westbrook became the team's scapegoat. The roster was poorly built, injury-prone, and old, and it's not like that was hard to predict. But as much as Rob Pelinka was responsible, Westbrook was getting pointed at by the fans.
So, with LeBron James now pushing for a Kyrie Irving reunion, it seems like Westbrook finally had enough. That's why he even parted ways with his agent, as he failed to get him traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
NBA Rumors: Russell Westbrook Had His Former Agent 'Begging' Nets GM To Trade For Him
“Russell Westbrook had his former agent Thad Foucher begging Sean Marks directly every day to come to Brooklyn," tweeted Brandon 'Scoop B' Robinson.
Westbrook's former agent released a statement after his firing, further complicating the situation. He claimed that he tried to convince Westbrook to embrace his role with the Lakers and drive his trade value up, but to no avail:
"This is an unprecedented level of tea-spilling from an agent in real-time," The Athletic's Jovan Buha wrote. "It clearly speaks to a troubling dynamic behind the scenes, as the partnership evidently soured to the point that Foucher felt the need to get ahead of the report and publicly defend himself. According to league sources, the split caught several people around the Lakers off guard."
"Every story has two sides, and we’ve yet to hear Westbrook’s recounting. The only communication we’ve seen from him so far is that he liked a tweet saying the split with Foucher had nothing to do with the Lakers," Buha added. "Considering Westbrook’s history with the media, he’s unlikely to address the matter until training camp, if at all.
Coach Darvin Ham has constantly defended Westbrook and even claimed that he's got a plan to bring him back to MVP form. But it's clear that he wants nothing to do with the purple and gold and will do whatever it takes to leave, except for declining his $47 million player option.
