Lakers News: For As Long As He's A Laker, Russell Westbrook Pledges To Be A Team Player
During an interview with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski in his Century City office, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook discussed his tenuous position with his current team, his approach to the game, how open he would be to a new role as a Laker, and more.
Westbrook, coming off a terrible first season with his hometown club in which the team plummeted to a 33-49 record and the 11th seed in the West, addressed the issue of whether or not the Lakers appear to want him around by more or less side-swiping the question:
"I need to just do my job. Whether I'm wanted or not [by the Lakers] doesn't really matter. I think the most important thing is that I show up for work and I do the job like I've always done it: Be professional and go out and play my ass off and compete."
Woj notes that there is no guarantee Westbrook will still be in Los Angeles by the end of the season (it would be best for all parties were he to be moved, in this writer's opinion), and also dropped an interesting tidbit. Per Woj, Westbrook "isn't promised to be a starter."
The nine-time All-Star appeared to express an openness to a bench role, if new head coach Darvin Ham decided that was his best fit at this stage in the 33-year-old first-ballot Hall of Famer's career. "I'm all-in on whatever it takes for this team to win," Westbrook said. "I'm prepared for whatever comes my way."
Almost defiantly, Westbrook (sort of) acknowledged his disappointing individual season last year, when he struggled to effectively close games out in the first quarter by assuming far too much offensive responsibility. His defense and shooting, never his strong suits, cratered in Los Angeles.
"I'm going to make mistakes. I'm [occasionally] not going to have good games. There will be times and stretches when I don't play well. I've owned that, and there were times last year that I could've played better, and I own that part of it. Moving into this year, I feel even more prepared than I was in years past. That's what I'm looking forward to the most. That, right there, will get me past any struggles that come my way."
You can almost see the gritted teeth through which all this lip service is being paid during the interview. Westbrook doesn't want to be in L.A. The Lakers certainly don't want Westbrook to be in L.A., as evinced by their various offseason efforts to add other veteran point guards.
So why, then, is Russell Westbrook still on this Lakers team?
It seems that the team's front office, led by team president Rob Pelinka, is unwilling to surrender both its available future first-round draft picks in an outgoing deal that would get the 6'3" vet's expiring $47.1 million contract off the club's books. The Utah Jazz made an inferior trade to offload power forward Bojan Bogdanovic after negotiations with Los Angeles stalled out over draft considerations. The best potential deal currently on the table, a trade with the Indiana Pacers for 3-and-D center Myles Turner and ace shooting guard sniper Buddy Hield, seems to be similarly hung up on the particulars of these first-round draft picks. Los Angeles has dug itself into this hole with Westbrook.
If the cost of doing business is surrendering both picks, and if the reward is players as good as Turner and Hield, then Pelinka and co. need to get this done.
