The Los Angeles Lakers benched Russell Westbrook in overtime of their eventual win over the Knicks. While Westbrook was happy with the win, it sends a larger message.
Westbrook was jeered by his own fans on Saturday night. In fact — it wasn’t a great sign of things to come if Brodie’s been abandoned by his own fanbase.
Yet, Lakers fans can be notoriously impatient. But they’re not alone, as Frank Vogel also lost patience with Westbrook, who scored five points on 1-of-10 shooting.
LeBron didn’t make his comments public as well, stating he would text Westbrook later to discuss the decision by Vogel and what it means in the larger picture of the Lakers’ season.
Russell Westbrook: At least we won
It’s been a tough go of late for a Lakers team that surprisingly finds itself fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament at this point in the season.
“The best part of this game is that you win,” Westbrook said. “Guys competed. We won the game and that’s all that matters.”
If we want to simplify things, sure, that’s a fine way of looking at it. But Westbrook has been one of the worst acquisitions in the league this season, and hasn’t added much at all to the Lakers’ rotation. If anything, he’s a liability out there.
Even Lakers fans would rather Westbrook not shoot from distance.
“Like I said, it’s not about me. I don’t want to make it about me. It’s more about our team and our guys. Tonight we got a good win and now move onto the next one,” Westbrook said, claiming he’s not upset about the benching.
At this point, the Lakers don’t have a suitor for Westbrook unless they attach draft compensation in trade talks. Considering they thought he’d be a contributor entering the season, Russ has been a massive disappointment so far.
Hopefully for the Lakers sake that changes, and fast.