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Los Angeles Lakers: Defending Russell Westbrook from NBA critics

By Kevin Germany

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 10: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers talks with media during a press conference at Staples Center on August 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 10: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers talks with media during a press conference at Staples Center on August 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers Russell Westbrook
(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers Russell Westbrook /

The Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Russell Westbrook is an LA-style move at its core: the ethos of the city has always been to either go big or go home. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka made this trade with winning future championships in mind.

Ultimately, the Lakers wanted a third superstar. Russell Westbrook was the only one realistically available in the trade market. Westbrook’s massive contract ($44,211,146 next season!) diminished his trade value to a point where the Lakers could actually get him.

In my opinion, Sacramento’s sharpshooting guard Buddy Hield would have been a better fit. Per Bleacher Report, Sacramento was only asking for Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell for Hield.

Losing KCP (and missing out on Hield) will hurt the Lakers far more than what many fans might realize. KCP shot 41% from three-point range last season. Hield has shot 40.6% from three-point range in his career.

As we all know, the Lakers need reliable three-point shooters for their half-court offense to be at its most effective. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have always thrived in the half-court when surrounded by elite three-point shooters such as KCP or Hield.

Moreover, it will be counterproductive to have a ball-dominant guard like Westbrook play alongside LeBron and AD. Westbrook is not a great outside shooter and he has not played off the ball since his college days at UCLA.

Lakers Head Coach Frank Vogel will need to determine whether to stagger LeBron and Westbrook’s minutes to optimize the offense now or to play them together in order to build up their chemistry later.

So on paper, Westbrook is not a perfect fit for the Los Angeles Lakers.

In reality, Westbrook is one of the greatest NBA point guards in NBA history and is still in his prime.

It is quite astonishing that several NBA analysts have said that Westbrook is NOT a top-10 point guard. This article from NBA.com only rates Westbrook in the honorable mention tier.

Nothing personal, but that writer for NBA.com is out of pocket! Here are two reasons why Russell Westbrook is still an elite point guard!

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