LA Times : Westbrook never respected Frank Vogel from Day 1

[kabacho]

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9cec4eb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3840x2560+0+0/resize/1080x720!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fed%2Ff7%2F7ee112d749 9a9a3babaf704a5359%2Fkings-lakers-basketball-20592.jpg


“Russ [Westbrook] never respected Frank [Vogel] from Day 1,” said one Lakers staff member with knowledge of the situation. “The moment Frank said anybody who gets the rebound can bring it up the court, which is just how the NBA is played these days, Russ was like, ‘Naw, I’m the point guard. Give the ball to me. Everybody run. Frank was like, ‘No, we have Talen [Horton-Tucker] We have Austin [Reaves]. We have Malik. We have LeBron. We have AD. They can all bring the ball up.’ He was like, ‘Nope, I’m the point guard. Give me that s—. Everybody get out the way.’

“From that point on, in training camp, it was a wrap, ‘cause now Russ is a fish out of water. He doesn’t know what to do. That’s how that started.”

ttps://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2022-04-08/inside-la-lakers-disappointing-season-lebron-james-anthony-davis

:lol

[FultzNationRISE]

This clown cost Bron a championship this year smh

[warriorfan]

LeGM made his bed

[iamgine]

Sounds like a clickbait story. Either entirely false or taken out of context.

[ArbitraryWater]

damn, and that sounds specific as hell/legit too.

****ing russ

[kabacho]

some random quotes from twitter:


In an early-season film session, assistant coach David Fizdale challenged Westbrook on his shot selection, and the two had an animated exchange, sources said. That was one of the instances when Westbrook was challenged by a coach or teammate, and the style the coaching staff envisioned for Westbrook did not match what took place on the court.


When Westbrook met with James and Davis prior to the blockbuster draft-night trade last year, sources say the league’s all-time leader in triple-doubles assured them he would accept any role given to him and be willing to adapt based on critique. The outcome of the season shows a common ground was not found.


“The players didn’t know who they were answering to, and I think Vogel took the brunt of that because he was the guy they saw every day,” said a league source. “It wasn’t fair. On a regular basis, Rambis would get on Vogel in front of staff and players — in practices, in the hallway where everybody can see it. He wasn’t taking it behind closed doors and laying it out. And what position does Rambis have? What’s his title? His title is friend of (team governor) Jeanie Buss.

[imdaman99]

Love me some anonymous sources.

[Phoenix]

Has anyone bookmarked the thread from a year ago when Russ to LA was announced? Because um, anyone with a 5 year olds knowledge of basketball said this was a bad fit.

[Shogon]

Has anyone bookmarked the thread from a year ago when Russ to LA was announced? Because um, anyone with a 5 year olds knowledge of basketball said this was a bad fit.

Bad fit, yes, but I will maintain forever it was worth the gamble.

My thought process was... KCP + Kuzma for Westbrook? Yes, even though LeBron and Russ are clearly a bad fit, that trade is so lopsided from a talent perspective you have to gamble on it... and if it doesn't work out, you just move Westbrook. But what I didn't anticipate was that Westbrook would look like such incredible trash that they couldn't even flip his deal, so for that I was wrong.

[kabacho]

My thought process was... KCP + Kuzma for Westbrook? Yes,

And Harrell...

[ImKobe]

Has anyone bookmarked the thread from a year ago when Russ to LA was announced? Because um, anyone with a 5 year olds knowledge of basketball said this was a bad fit.

We all knew it wouldn't be a great fit, but I thought it could work to an extent if Bran was going to miss games w/ Russ carrying some of that load, but obviously it wasn't going to work if AD was the one out all year. I thought they added enough shooting in FA to make it work, but Nunn didn't play a single game and the Ariza signing didn't work out either, and not having AD (the only elite defender remaining on the team) out there meant that it was going to be a disaster on both ends. They only played 21 games together this season and were 11 - 10 in those games. Not great, and the sample size is kinda small, but they make the Playoffs as a 5-6 seed with AD healthy IMO.

[Shogon]

And Harrell...

The guy that no other team signed that prior off-season other than the Lakers who massively underpaid him for what he thought he would get?

The guy that got virtually no playing time on the Lakers and didn't do shit when he did?

The guy that then got dealt by the Wizards for nothing?

That Harrell?

[SATAN]

It's just unbelievable that people can have decent paying work that requires them to publish bullshit articles and push weird agendas about people yet they don't lose sleep over it. Imagine actually doing that as your job.

[Full Court]

This clown cost Bron a championship this year smh

If we're being fair, Bronie cost Westbrook the playoffs this year.

[Phoenix]

Bad fit, yes, but I will maintain forever it was worth the gamble.

My thought process was... KCP + Kuzma for Westbrook? Yes, even though LeBron and Russ are clearly a bad fit, that trade is so lopsided from a talent perspective you have to gamble on it... and if it doesn't work out, you just move Westbrook. But what I didn't anticipate was that Westbrook would look like such incredible trash that they couldn't even flip his deal, so for that I was wrong.

That's the crux of the issue. They're now stuck with a soon to be 34 year old declining star earning 40m+, never evolved his game, and in his mind still thinks its 2017 at the peak of his MVP powers. I suspect he'll be out of the league when his deal ends in a year, the Iverson route of simply not being able to adapt to a lesser role. Hell, Melo was out for over a year until he accepted that he's not that Nuggets/Knicks guy anymore. He can still catch and shoot, so he has 'some' value in the modern league, but Russ has no semblance of a shot anymore, either from the field or at the line. You simply can't give much burn and usage to what he is now.

[kabacho]

The guy that no other team signed that prior off-season other than the Lakers who massively underpaid him for what he thought he would get?

The guy that got virtually no playing time on the Lakers and didn't do shit when he did?

The guy that then got dealt by the Wizards for nothing?

That Harrell?

He did more for LAL that Westbrook :lol