Skip to main content

Russell Westbrook says 'the plan' is to return to Lakers next season, knows 'nothing is promised'


 


Russell Westbrook's debut season with the Los Angeles Lakers did not go as planned. On Tuesday, they were eliminated from postseason contention by the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago: the Phoenix Suns. Westbrook struggled to fit alongside the ball-dominant LeBron James. He did not improve as a shooter, grow as an off-ball mover or commit to playing strong defense. In addition, his $44 million salary prevented the Lakers from maintaining the deep supporting cast that made them so dangerous over the past few seasons. The move, by nearly any measure, was a disaster.


But after the 121-110 loss to Phoenix, Westbrook indicated that he's ready to try it all again if that's how things shake out. 


"That's the plan," Westbrook said after the game before acknowledging the reality of the situation. "But nothing is promised. You kind of have to take it one day at a time each day. Like I've said all season long, you've got to play the cards you're dealt. Yes, we want to be able to see what that looks like, what that entails over the course of an 82-game season, but we're not sure if that's guaranteed, either. So I just hope that we have a chance to be able to do something."


If Westbrook wants to remain with the Lakers, the first domino is his to be knocked down. He has a $47 million player option for next season. If he picks it up, he will at least be under contract with the team, but they will still be free to trade him. Of course, if the Lakers are afraid that they cannot move him, Westbrook could offer to decline the option and extend his contract for multiple seasons at a lower rate. This would also likely be unpalatable, and if the Lakers wanted to, they could simply use the stretch provision to waive Westbrook and pay him what he is owed over the course of several years. Should Westbrook hit the open market, he would not earn offers anywhere close to the $47 million the Lakers are obligated to pay him if he opts in.


Westbrook isn't the only major Laker to imply that he wouldn't mind running it back. Anthony Davis wondered after Sunday's loss to the Denver Nuggets what might have been. "Guys feel like, 'OK, what could we have been if I was healthy all year, [LeBron James] was healthy, [Kendrick] Nunn was healthy?' You think about those things," Davis said. "We put this team together and it looked good on paper, but we haven't had a chance to reach that potential with guys in and out of the lineup. So the most frustrating part of this season is not being sure of what we could have been."


Even when the Lakers (31-48) had their full star trio, they weren't particularly effective. They were outscored even during the minutes when all three played together. The trio simply did not fit together. None are elite shooters. They cramped the floor for one another and their enormous salaries prevented the team from adding the sort of role players that would have made sense alongside them.


The widespread assumption around the league is that Westbrook will pick up that $47 million option. Financially speaking, he would be foolish not to. From there, the ball is in the Lakers' court. They will surely seek out trade opportunities, and with Westbrook on an expiring contract this offseason, moving him might be possible. If it isn't, Westbrook at least appears open to mending fences even if there's little evidence suggesting that doing so would be worthwhile for either side.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bill Russell Once Explained Why He Didn't Bother With Celtics Fans: "When I Was A Star, The Fans Called Us The 'Boston Globetrotters' Because The Celtics Had Black Players."

  While the NBA is a beacon for freedom and tolerance in America, things didn't start off that way. In a place like Boston, during the 50s and 60s, racial tension was a pretty serious problem, and superstar big man Bill Russell had to deal with it on a game-to-game basis. Today, it can be hard for us to imagine just how difficult being a black basketball player really was back then. Fortunately, we have some clips: "The number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of an NBA team having black players. Out there, the star was Bob Cousy. No matter what I did, Cousy was the star. I remember I had a game where I had 25 points, 25 rebounds, 10 blocks, and the Boston Herald said I was lucky to play with Cousy." Unfortunately, the media didn't give Russell his respect back then. Despite being the best player on the court, and on his team, Cousy and others always got the spotlight. Even the fans weren't very accepting of Bill: "I didn't...
Post a Comment
Read more

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

  Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sixers' James Harden backs teammate Joel Embiid for MVP: 'He deserves it, man'

  James Harden has been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for less than two months, but that's been more than enough time for him to appreciate the brilliance of Joel Embiid. The duo is expected to help the Sixers compete for a championship, but Harden believes another trophy should be on its way to Philly this year.  In an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden backed Embiid for MVP, saying "he deserves it, man." "I've only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset," Harden said. "He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he's prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years." This has indeed been one of Embiid's best years. He's averaging a career-high 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent f...
Post a Comment
Read more