Lakers are in for a rude awakening if they expect change from Westbrook
By Jason Reed
It is becoming more and more likely that Russell Westbrook is on the Los Angeles Lakers to start the 2022-23 season. Westbrook is still on the roster well into September and is working out and connecting with Patrick Beverley. That is not a good sign for the Lakers.
As a result, some Lakers fans have started to look at the glass-half-full. There has been a shift in the Westbrook discourse, with most fans looking at the positive side of things and explaining how things could be better for the Lakers this season.
There is this idea that if Westbrook simply buys into a new role with Darvin Ham that a healthy Lakers team can be much better than last season. After all, the team hardly played together so we never saw how good it could actually be, right?
This is the exact same line of thinking that burned Lakers fans last season and I will be honest, I was part of that camp. I ignored the litany of bad signs from Russell Westbrook and touted how this move would make the Lakers a better regular-season team and would help keep LeBron fresh for the playoffs.
Don’t fall for the same trap two years in a row. There is only one thing that is undoubtedly true about Russell Westbrook as it pertains to the 2022-23 season.
Russell Westbrook is not going to change for the Los Angeles Lakers. Period.
Have we forgotten about Westbrook’s exit interview that was conducted a mere five months ago? The same interview where he essentially blamed everyone else, including Frank Vogel, and took no responsibility for how he played or how badly the team did?
Have we forgotten about the fact that this has been a trend everywhere he has played in his career? No star player has done less with as much help as Westbrook has had in recent years. Westbrook has had superstar teammate after superstar teammate and has only won one playoff series since Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City.
Do we expect Westbrook to finally flip the switch this long into his NBA career? I respect the optimism if so, but just like last year, fans are going to be let down when they watch Westbrook hit the top of the backboard on an open three and then turn around and make a defensive mistake that costs the team a basket.
Could the Lakers be better than they were last season if they play Westbrook fewer minutes and the other stars on the team stay healthy? Yes. They can be better.
However, in a loaded Western Conference, the Lakers are not going to make much noise. “Better” for the team, with Westbrook, is going from the 11th seed in the West to the 8th seed in the West.
This team is not coming close to sniffing a championship with Westbrook on the roster and that is simply a fact.