Getty Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook
A three-time All-Star wants people to know that Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook is a great teammate and player.
Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal appeared on JJ Redick’s “The Old Man & the Three” podcast and talked about Westbrook, who spent the 2020-21 season with the Wizards. Beal believes Westbrook is an “amazing teammate” and doesn’t deserve all the criticism he receives from the media and fans.
“One, he’s an amazing teammate,” Beal said about Westbrook.” Like, he’s the complete opposite of like kind of the picture everybody kind of paints him to be, at least character-wise. You’re his teammate, he rides for you. He doesn’t give a damn if you’re on the other team. Like, he rides with his guys. He loves his team and that’s what he’s all about. Even the staff, like it’s a respect factor from top-down and I enjoyed playing with him. We knew what we were getting in practice and in games and it was the same guy.”
Westbrook averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists in his lone season with the Wizards. The one-time MVP helped Washington reach the 2021 playoffs, where the team lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. In the summer of 2021, the Wizards traded Westbrook to the Lakers for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma.
The Lakers had the second-best preseason odds to win the championship last season. However, Los Angeles went 33-49 and didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament. Westbrook started 78 games and averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists, which are solid numbers, but the purple and gold went 31-47 in Westbrook’s 78 appearances. The All-Star guard was second in the NBA in turnovers and had the sixth-worst effective field goal percentage, making him a poor fit next to Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Lakers Tried to Trade Westbrook All Offseason
The Lakers tried to trade Westbrook all summer. They had discussions with the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers, league sources told Heavy.com. Ultimately, Los Angeles didn’t trade Westbrook, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023.
According to an October 3rd report from Sam Amick, Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers seriously considered sending Westbrook and unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Pacers for center Myles Turner and shooting guard Buddy Hield before training camp started. While Westbrook wasn’t traded, the prospect of him being moved in the coming weeks and months remains real.
If the Lakers don’t trade Westbrook before the 2023 trade deadline, the future Hall of Famer has to limit his turnovers and make perimeter jump shots for Los Angeles to have success. Russ shot 29.8% from beyond the arc last season, and among 46 players to take at least 1,000 shots, he ranked 42nd in true shooting percentage.
Westbrook Reportedly Refined His Shooting Form
Amick, Charania and Buha reported that Westbrook slightly refined his shooting form this summer. Sources said the UCLA product’s catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage has been improved in workouts and scrimmages.
Through the Lakers’ first two preseason games, Westbrook is shooting 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 6-of-15 from the field.
According to an August 9th report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers hope Westbrook will improve his 3-point shooting from the corners. The corner 3-pointer is the shortest shot from beyond the arc. Westbrook hit 43.8% of his 3-pointers from the corner last season, which was fourth on the Lakers.
James, Westbrook and Davis appeared in only 21 games together last season. The Lakers were 11-10 with their three superstars on the floor together, a 43-win pace over the course of an 82-game season.