Is Russell Westbrook-Lakers marriage doomed?

National Basketball Association

5 mins ago

Through the opening weeks of the preseason, Russell Westbrook still looks broken on the Los Angeles Lakers. Is the marriage beyond repair?

Their underwhelming partnership continued Wednesday, as Westbrook collected five points, four assists, three rebounds and three turnovers while shooting 1-of-3 from the field and 0-of-2 from beyond the arc in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Westbrook is shooting 38.9% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc across over three preseason appearances.

Shannon Sharpe contended on Thursday that Westbrook’s offensive tendencies are unchanged, and therefore the Lakers guard can’t prosper in their system.

“The shot selection, bruh, when do you realize if you shoot 29% from three, there’s a reason why you’re open?” Sharpe said on “Undisputed.” “There’s a reason why the opposing team is encouraging you to shoot those shots.

“It’s not going to work. A stop-and-play, Pat [Beverley]’s trying to get the guys together. He’s [Westbrook] arguing with the official; he doesn’t want to be a part of it. He’s a solo act; he’s not a team player. [The] Lakers aren’t going to do anything.”

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Skip Bayless agreed with Sharpe, arguing that Westbrook doesn’t fit in the Lakers’ offense alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

“It’s just hard to watch,” Bayless said of Westbrook. “It’s almost like, what’s wrong with this picture because he [Westbrook] doesn’t even fit in the picture because you watch LeBron’s artistry, and then you watch AD’s dominance because he’s a gifted 6-foot-10 player with guard skills. And then all of a sudden you fixate on No. 0, and you think, ‘How is he out there? Where did they find him? Did they just go get him off the street and throw him out there?”

The Lakers, of course, have explored several trade possibilities involving the former All-NBA guard. But with the club reportedly resisting offers that include both their available future first-round picks, Westbrook is in line to run it back with L.A. to begin the 2022-23 campaign. The soon-to-be 34-yar-old, in fact, is expected to be in new coach Darvin Ham’s starting lineup.

But that, too, could be tenuous amid the team’s 1-4 start to the preseason. The Lakers will be eager to identify a winning formula after going 33-49 last season. They’re just two years removed from a championship but have also missed the playoffs seven times in the past nine seasons.

After moving on from coach Frank Vogel, Westbrook, who’s in the final year of his contract, could be seen as the next scapegoat. The nine-time All-Star averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting just 44.4/29.8/66.7 in 2021-22. This offseason, the Lakers added a handful of guards/wings, including Beverley, Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker. They also return Kendrick Nunn, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.

Los Angeles opens the 2022-23 season on the road against the defending-champion Golden State Warriors next Tuesday.