“I’m the president and the CEO of Russell Westbrook fan club… But Russ has to take some responsibility” - Antoine Walker says the LA Lakers should keep Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook had an unimpressive run in his first season with the LA Lakers and has been the center of several trade talks. However, former NBA player Antoine Walker advises the Lakers should keep him.
Moving the veteran guard would be an incredibly difficult endeavor to pull off given the size of his salary and reported lack of trade value. Even if the Lakers are keen on moving him, they will not find many trade partners eager to take him.
Throughout the 2021-22 season, analysts have poured in their opinions on why Russ is not a great fit for the Lakers. The constant attack has reportedly strained his relationship with Kendrick Perkins, as the latter revealed he is working on smoothing things over with Russ.
However, the self-acclaimed president of the Russell Westbrook fan club, Walker, has said that the Lakers should give Russ another chance. Speaking on First Things First with Chris Broussard, Nick Wright, Jenna Wolfe, and Kevin Wildes, he said:
"I’m the president and the CEO of Russell Westbrook fan club. Of course, you keep him. I believe in him, and I believe that he can get it done with the Lakers. But Russ has to take some responsibility too," he continued. "I want Russ to get the three-point shot out of his head. I want Russ to get the post-up game back going for himself, where he was one of the best post-up point guards we had in the league. Also, I want him to understand who he's playing with, with AD and LeBron."
"So, he's gonna have to do other things on the offensive end instead of trying to stand in the corner cos that's not his strong suit. Whether that's slashing, cutting to the basket, becoming an offensive rebounder at times. But I do believe that they can get it done with Russell Westbrook. I don't see no other point guards out there that jumps out at me that can take his place right now unless it's a massive trade of some sort but I don't think that's going to happen," he added.
"Right now, I think you do bring him back. He's durable, you know he's gonna play hard, he's gonna give you that 110% effort, and you can't pass that up if it's not anything out there that's better than him," said Walker.
"I'm the president and CEO of the Russell Westbrook fan club. Of course, the Lakers should keep him. But Russ has to take some responsibility, too."
— @WalkerAntoine8 explains why the Lakers should run it back with Russ and how they can make it work: https://t.co/YKWzClgCTr
Although things did not go as planned, Russ is still an incredible talent, and perhaps just needs to figure out how to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He had occasional good games, especially when James was unavailable.
Will the Lakers let Russell Westbrook go?
Letting Russ go this offseason might not exactly be in the franchise's best interest, especially as they may not get a player of his quality. Granted, there is a lot that he needs to work on to succeed in LA, but getting a player of his level in return will be difficult.
The Lakers are reportedly still undecided on whether to trade or keep Russell Westbrook this offseason silverscreenandroll.com/2022/5/18/2312…
Even as the Lakers struggle with that decision, executives in the league might not make it easy on them. It has been reported that his value has significantly reduced following his display in the 2021-22 season.
There is a lot of upside to keeping Russ despite his defensive deficiencies. However, their best option might be to wait until deadline day with the hope that he has a decent run in the first half of the 2022-23 season.