Lakers: Stephen A Smith Argues That Russell Westbrook Deserves the Heckling
The Lakers have a Russell Westbrook problem. That's been the main storyline since the start of this season. But it no longer is just an issue on the court, and that's where things have taken a drastic turn.
Rumors surrounding Westbrook wanting to leave the Lakers have started to circulate this week. That comes on the heels of a trade deadline in which Los Angeles was actively shopping the former league MVP.
But the fans have started to get to Russ, resulting in a series of on-court altercations with him. Russ spoke about those altercations after the loss against the Spurs on Monday night and revealed that it's been very tough for his family since coming to the Lakers.
Russ detailed some terrible things that have been directed at him and his family. But for ESPN's Stephen A Smith, this is something Russ brought on himself.
“As inexcusable as the behavior of some fans may be towards you, and while your family clearly doesn’t deserve any of it and neither do you as it pertains to threats, the heckling part is what I’m talking about. brother, you brought that on yourself.”
Russ is having a horrendous first season with the Lakers. He is averaging 18.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. All while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from three-point range. It's ugly, but even worse considering that he is making $44 million this year.
All of this spells the beginning of the end for Russ on the Lakers. It's tough to imagine that he would want to come back at this point, especially with the interactions he has had with fans. So do they try to trade him or buy him out?
We'll find out in the coming months.
