Getty Lakers star Russell Westbrook
The Los Angeles Lakers need a new head coach after firing Frank Vogel and they are receiving help from a Hall of Famer.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Phil Jackson is “significantly involved” in the Lakers’ coaching search. The Zen Master won five championships with Los Angeles and used to date owner Jeanie Buss.
Along with hiring a new coach, the Lakers’ front office will likely make tweaks to the roster since the 2021-22 squad was a walking disaster. The purple and gold missed the playoffs despite having five future Hall of Famers in LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard.
Most pundits believe the Lakers will trade Westbrook this summer since the one-time MVP struggled this season. However, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Jackson is “known to have been a fan of Westbrook,” which is noteworthy since Jackson is assisting Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka.
“And how’s this for a tidbit to tie this thread up: Phil Jackson is known to have been a fan of Westbrook’s throughout his career,” Amick reported. “Sources say Phil Jackson has no interest in taking on this coaching job (or any other) himself — let’s just stop that rumor right here — but his view of Westbrook is relevant. As we’ve established, Jackson’s voice matters again.”
Westbrook appeared in 78 games for the Lakers this season. The nine-time All-Star averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.4% from the floor, 29.8% from beyond the arc and 66.7% from the free-throw line and was second in the NBA in turnovers.
Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report reported in March that the Lakers and Westbrook have mutual interest in parting ways this offseason. However, Amick is beginning to wonder if Westbrook might be back in Los Angeles next season.
Amick: Lakers Blame Vogel for Westbrook’s Poor Season
According to Amick, the Lakers are blaming Vogel for Westbrook’s subpar 2021-22 season, which has caused the NBA insider to wonder if the franchise is hoping for a “Russ revival.”
“I’m starting to wonder if the Lakers might not trade Russell Westbrook this summer after all,” Amick wrote. “And no, not just because [Bill[ Oram made a compelling argument on Monday as to why they should think twice about it. When the decision was made to fire Vogel, sources say his handling of Westbrook and the inability to find a way to make him a more productive part of the program were among the factors that played a big part. There was a strong sense that it was on Vogel to make the Westbrook experiment work, and the fact that it didn’t led to questions about whether Westbrook had been put in a position to succeed. That sure smells like the hope of a Russ revival to me.”
Westbrook has a player option worth $47,063,478 for next season. During his exit interview on April 11, the UCLA product was asked by reporters to talk about his playing future.
Westbrook Spoke About His Future
Westbrook was asked what would entice him to want to play for the Lakers again after everything he went through this season. The California native said his decision will come down to several factors.
“I mean obviously, it’s going to be a lot of different changes based on who the coach is and how our style of play and what we play like,” Westbrook said. “So that question is kind of up in the air, but once that decision is made, then we’ll kind of go from there.”
Westbrook deleted all of his basketball-related Instagram posts except for one audio post recently. The post is a picture of himself in his Lakers uniform, captioned “1 of 1,” and featuring audio of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle.
In the audio, Hussle talked about people’s expectations of him and how he doesn’t care what others think, which is clearly how Westbrook operates. It will certainly be interesting to see if the Lakers trade the guard this summer or bring him back for another run.