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Los Angeles Lakers: The 3 most disappointing players from this season

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 25: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on from the bench during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on February 25, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 25: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on from the bench during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on February 25, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

1. Russell Westbrook

Oh man, were Laker fans hyping up the addition of Russell Westbrook before the season while the rest of the NBA world was downplaying the move and calling it a bad addition. The rest of the NBA world was correct, as the Westbrook trade is the reason why the team is in the situation it is in.

Heck, I went through a roller coaster on how I felt about the Westbrook move personally. When the trade was first announced I called it a trade that reeked of desperation from Rob Pelinka. However, the more I thought about it the more I thought it would make the team better in the regular season.

I was always of the stance that in the playoffs the team would have to figure something out and probably play Westbrook less. However, on paper, Westbrook seemed like he would make the team better in the regular season as he would take some pressure off of LeBron James.

That is not what happened. Not only did Westbrook fit horribly next to LeBron and AD and not make any changes in his game, but he also played pretty poorly when those two did not play or weren’t on the court as well.

Westbrook is not a good defender and he is one of the most inefficient shooters in the entire NBA. The former UCLA Bruin is shooting 29.5% from three and has taken an absurd 261 threes (3.4 per game).

There are 130 players in the NBA who have taken 250 threes this season. Westbrook has the worst three-point percentage of them all and is one of just four players under 30%. And this is just one stat to encapsulate how poorly he has fit in LA.

Next. 50 greatest Lakers of all-time. dark

It is strange because I don’t really even blame Westbrook. He does deserve blame for his stubbornness to change his playstyle and his downplaying of the team’s failure all season. However, this is really pinned on the front office, who are the ones who made this horrible trade.

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