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With just two games remaining on their regular-season schedule, the Golden State Warriors find themselves in a strong position as the likely No. 3 seed in the West.
Sure, the campaign has been one filled with ups, downs and injuries of all shapes and sizes, but fans probably still have to feel good about where things sit.
The same can’t be said for former Warrior Kent Bazemore, who rebuffed Golden State over the summer in order to return to the Lakers.
At the time, it was reported that the veteran anticipated having a bigger role and a better chance to win in La La Land. In the end, though, the Lakers failed to qualify for postseason play and Bazemore has had one of the more trying years of his career as an individual.
But if you thought that Dub Nation would show any kind of sympathy for what has clearly become a free-agency faux pas, you thought wrong.
Fans Shred Bazemore
In response to the Lakers being officially eliminated from the playoff race, an old tweet from The Athletic’s Shams Charania about Bazemore’s thought process was put in the spotlight. Moreover, fans who felt spurned by the baller openly reveled in his failure.
“If you ever feel bad [about] your life, just remember that Kent Bazemore chose the Lakers over the Warriors,” tweeted one fan.
“Aye remember when Kent Bazemore said he wanted to play for a contender? Now he ain’t even in the playoffs. Karma is funny,” joked another.
“LMFAO KENT BAZEMORE RLLY RING CHASED TO NOT EVEN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS,” exclaimed a third tweeter.
Elsewhere on Twitter, there were also fans theorizing that Bazemore was actually a double agent and that he only signed on with LeBron James and Co. to help torpedo their season.
“Plot twist. Bazemore loved the warriors so much that he volunteered to go to the Lakers to make them worse and free up a spot for us. True legend. If you love them learn to let them go. True love,” wrote a fourth commenter.
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Bazemore’s Rough Year
Although the Warriors’ ultimately failed to advance to the playoffs during last year’s play-in tournament, they did well to overcome injuries and at least put themselves in a position where the postseason was a possibility. Bazemore was a big part of that effort, too.
In 67 games with Golden State, including 18 starts, Bazemore averaged 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per contest. He was also one of the club’s steadiest deep threats, hitting 40.8% of his triples.
His numbers weren’t even in that ballpark with the Lakers this season. While appearing in just 39 games and logging a number of DNP-CDs, the 32-year-old averaged just 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per outing. His three-point conversion rate checked in at a respectable 36.3%, but he was only a 32.4% shooter from the field overall.
Bazemore will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. And given his age and poor performance in 2021-22, finding his next gig in the league could be a tall task.
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