A former MVP and 12-time All-Star recently talked about the criticism Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook has been receiving.
Brooklyn Nets small forward Kevin Durant, who was teammates with Westbrook on the Oklahoma City Thunder, doesn’t like how “toxic” the Westbrook criticism has become. The Lakers guard has been called “Russell Westbrick” on social media, and whenever Westbrook misses a shot or turns the ball over, he’s deeply vilified by the media and Lakers fans.
“But if you play in LA, you playin’ next to the biggest figure in sports in LeBron James, everything you do is gonna be magnified,” Durant said on The ETCs Podcast. “Especially if the outside perception is that your team is gonna struggle. … The Lakers got a big microscope on them. So you gotta be on point every time. So if Russ misses a layup, it’s gon’ be blown out of proportion. If he misses a 3, he might be 5-for-7, though, but he miss those two shots, though. I understand that it’s certain points where you don’t play well and you are open to criticism when you don’t play well. We get that. But it’s like now you’re making him the butt of your jokes now.”
Westbrook went viral during the Lakers‘ preseason game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 12th. In the third quarter, Patrick Beverley gathered LeBron James, Lonnie Walker IV and Anthony Davis for a defensive huddle after the Timberwolves scored an and-one basket on Westbrook. Instead of joining his teammates in the huddle, Westbrook talked to the ref and someone on the bench and it appeared as if the one-time MVP was ignoring Beverley and the rest of his teammates.
However, Westbrook said the following day he was talking to a coach on the bench about the defensive coverage and that the cameras cut that part out. The UCLA product also said running to the bench alone following the end of pregame introductions is something he’s been doing his whole career. Durant even stated that Westbrook did that in OKC.
Durant: Hopefully Westbrook Plays Well This Season, Except Against Us
Durant said on his podcast that he hopes Westbrook plays well this season. However, the two-time Finals MVP doesn’t want to see his old teammate and the Lakers have success against his Nets.
“Hopefully he just keep hoopin’ and block all that noise out and prove to everybody that they wrong about how they feel about his game and they mesh over there in LA,” Durant said. “But when we play them, I hope they play sh*tty. But I hope all that stuff works out cuz I hate how they talk. The dialog around our game is just so toxic at this point. I get criticism, but it’s starting to turn into something else right now.”
The Lakers lost to the Golden State Warriors on opening night by a final score of 123-109. Westbrook, who started, played 31 minutes and finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four turnovers while shooting 7-of-12 from the field, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. The nine-time All-Star had a plus-minus of -6.
Durant & Westbrook Were Almost Teammates Again
The Lakers tried to acquire Kyrie Irving from the Nets this past summer. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported in July that Los Angeles and Brooklyn were actively engaged in discussions on a trade package that would have sent Westbrook to the Nets and Irving to the Lakers.
However, after the Nets announced in August that Durant — who requested a trade — would not be traded, Irving was removed from the trade block. According to a July report from Marc Stein of Substack, James wanted the Lakers to trade for Irving, who won the 2016 championship with LeBron on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Durant had a record of 331-195 with Westbrook in OKC. The Thunder reached the 2012 Finals behind KD and Russ. However, they lost to James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat in five games.
The Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season, tried to trade Westbrook all offseason. They almost dealt the future Hall of Famer to the Indiana Pacers for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, according to an October 3rd report from Sam Amick, Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic. While Westbrook wasn’t traded during the offseason, league sources told The Athletic that the prospect of him being traded in the coming weeks and months remains real.
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Former MVP & 12-Time All-Star Goes Off About Lakers’ Russell Westbrook