Lakers: Report Shows Dissension Between Vogel and Russell Westbrook From 'Day 1'
The Lakers season is hours away from coming to a merciful end. For the second time in four years, LA did not qualify for the playoffs. Not even the play-tournament. There's plenty of reasons why the Lakers season is ending in early April. Russell Westbrook is one of the bigger ones.
Russ can be faulted for a few things, but never lack of on-court effort. Without question Westbrook played the only way he knows how: pedal to the metal. It's what got him a MVP, all those triple doubles, and inclusion on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.
His stubbornness in sticking to his preferred style play that got him all of those accolades could also be pointed to the reason the Lakers never meshed this year. That, and a palpable level of disrespect for Lakers head coach Frank Vogel.
In a recent article by The LA Times' Brad Turner, an anonymous Lakers staff member retells the first flashpoint in the relationship between Vogel and Westbrook.
“Russ never respected Frank from Day 1. “The moment Frank said anybody who gets the rebound can bring it up the court, which is just how the NBA is played these days, Russ was like, ‘Naw, I’m the point guard. Give the ball to me. Everybody run. Frank was like, ‘No, we have Talen [Horton-Tucker] We have Austin [Reaves]. We have Malik. We have LeBron. We have AD. They can all bring the ball up.’ He was like, ‘Nope, I’m the point guard. Give me that s—. Everybody get out the way.’
The quote confirms what fans saw glimpses of throughout the season. Westbrook, Vogel, and his coaching staff, never saw eye to eye.
It's difficult to form a winning culture when your third most important player isn't on board with what the coaching staff is trying to do.
The NBA is, and will continue to be, a star driven league, but those stars need to be aligned with the vision of the coaching staff.
