Russell Westbrook hasn't exactly lived up to the expectations at the Los Angeles Lakers. Brodie made the move to California following a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards but he was on the verge of leaving LA just a few months later.
Westbrook has constantly been in the eye of the storm for his poor performances, up to the point that he was about to leave before the trade deadline on February 10. As we know, that didn't happen - but apparently there were people within the team pushing for it.
According to Sam Amick and Bill Oram of The Athletic, the Lakers' coaching staff was pulling the strings to trade Westbrook and got really close to do so as the Houston Rockets showed interest. However, as much as they intended to move on him, the deal was not appealing enough.
Report: The Lakers' coaching staff was behind the Russell Westbrook trade talks
(Via The Athletic)
"Sources say the coaching staff made an unsuccessful push for Westbrook to be traded before the Feb. 10 deadline, when the Lakers passed on Houston’s John Wall, in part, because of the draft considerations that it would have required to make the deal. There were also significant concerns about the fact that Wall hadn’t played all season and, thus, didn’t instill confidence in his ability to help the Lakers turn their season around.
Yet now, it appears, the friction between Westbrook and the coaching staff has only grown worse. Sources confirmed the recent rising of tensions between Westbrook and the coaching staff, which were first reported by Marc Stein. If only for a night, Westbrook’s 20-point, four-assist, four-rebound, plus-13 outing against the Warriors on Saturday offered a reminder that he is capable of being part of the solution. But the performance was an outlier, to say the least."
Westbrook has fallen short of expectations thus far. However, in the Lakers' massive win over the Warriors - which was their first victory after four defeats in a row - Russ played much better, especially when he carried the ball while LeBron James was not on the court, and recorded 20 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Will he build from there to improve his relationship with the coaching staff?
