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Russell Westbrook’s wife, Nina, ripped ESPN after Los Angeles Lakers reporter Dave McMenamin cited a source calling Westbrook a “vampire.”
“I have school aged children who have to listen to their peers repeat the nasty things that you guys say on television about their father. I guess I will prepare myself to explain to my 5 year old that his dad is not actually a vampire.”
Russell Westbrook’s wife, Nina on IG 😳
The Lakers traded Westbrook to the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles acquired D’Angelo Russell from the Timberwolves and Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Jazz.
Westbrook, 34, averaged 17.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 130 games with the Lakers. Los Angeles went 56-74 with the UCLA product in the lineup.
The Lakers Traded Russell Westbrook to Remove the ‘Vampire’ from the Locker Room
McMenamin said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” that the Lakers traded Westbrook to remove the “vampire” from the locker room. The word “vampire” deeply upset Nina Westbrook.
“This was the time to do it,” McMenamin said. “Russell Westbrook was not gonna be part of the team after this summer when his contract expired. And also when his contract came off the books, the Lakers would have less money to deal with in the free agency period this summer. So you had to do it if you wanted to get those pieces you could have part of the team moving forward. You get younger, you got shooting, you got switchable defenders, and as one source told me, you remove a vampire from the locker room. That meaning a vampire sucks the blood out of the locker room. Russell Westbrook moves on.”
“As one source told me, ‘You remove a vampire from the locker room.’ That meaning a vampire sucks the blood out of the locker room and Russell Westbrook moves on.”
@mcten on the Lakers trading Russ 🧛♂️
In his final game with the Lakers, Westbrook got into an argument with head coach Darvin Ham. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that Westbrook and Ham had a “heated verbal exchange” in the locker room during halftime of the Oklahoma City Thunder game.
“Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook and coach Darvin Ham had a brief, heated verbal exchange in the locker room during halftime of Tuesday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources told ESPN,” Wojnarowski wrote. “Ham expressed frustration with how Westbrook lingered on the playing floor after getting subbed out of the game late in the second quarter. Voices were raised in the locker room.”
Westbrook is averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists this season while shooting 41.7% overall, 29.6% from beyond the arc and 65.5% from the free-throw line. The one-time MVP is fourth in the NBA in turnovers and has the fourth-worst effective field goal percentage and the third-worst true shooting percentage.
Russell Westbrook Situation Became ‘Toxic’ for the Lakers
Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the Westbrook situation became “toxic” for the Lakers. Westbrook reportedly didn’t take criticism well from Ham.
“But when Ham turned his attention to Westbrook and his specific individual struggles, sources say the future Hall of Famer appeared to take it personally. As had been the case so many times before, when the coaching staff struggled with Westbrook’s unwillingness to be held accountable for his play, Westbrook wasn’t hearing it. Ham, sources say, was upset at a number of on-court developments from the first half,” Buha and Amick wrote. “But the final straw, it seems, was Westbrook’s choice to walk off the court so slowly after he was replaced late in the second quarter. For both parties, the topic of great disagreement centered on respect — or lack thereof. In the end, with the tension in the room adding to the toxicity of their environment yet again, they agreed to disagree.”
Westbrook is the second player in NBA history to get traded four times after being an MVP, joining Bob McAdoo.