“Russell Westbrook, to me, signifies what draft picks are supposed to be … That guy became a MVP” - NBA analyst says he’s rooting for Russell Westbrook to do well next season, says his heart wants that
Russell Westbrook had a disappointing season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The point guard posted the third-worst scoring mark of his career, and the Lakers won only 33 games.
Despite a horrible season, Westbrook opted into the final year of his contract and will be paid $47.1 million next year. The Lakers point guard will be the second highest paid player in the league, just behind Steph Curry.
Freddie Coleman spoke about the nine-time NBA All-Star on ESPN's "First Take." He prefers Westbrook over James Harden. Furthermore, he said how he wants the Lakers point guard to succeed next season.
"I want to see him prove people wrong and it's a hard pick. I'll be completely transparent here because it doesn't make sense for me to say I would rather take Westbrook over Harden. But my heart wants him to succeed because so many people doubted him and they continue to doubt him."
Despite Westbrook having a bad year, some of it could have been due to his diminished role. He can still bounce back and prove people wrong.
Russell Westbrook needs to change his approach
Freddie Coleman talked about Russell Westbrook and his Superman complex. Westbrook is used to putting the team on his back, but he may have done too much with the Lakers.
.@ColemanESPN is rooting for Russ 🙌
“Russell Westbrook, to me, signifies what draft picks are supposed to be. … That guy became an MVP player.” https://t.co/zAFxujv67r
Coleman thinks that Westbrook believes he has to do it all, and this believe is the root cause of the issues between him and the team.
"My heart wants to believe that he's gonna figure this out and say, 'My way has not worked with this organization.'"
The NBA analyst also pointed out that all Westbrook has to do is become a better team player. If he changes this, it could be a major difference for the Lakers, and they could be competitive next season.
Darvin Ham, the Lakers new coach, spoke about Russell Westbrook and the role he will have next season. Ham talked about Westbrook's defense and how it will have to improve.
This, however, was not a criticism of Westbrook alone. Ham knows that the Lakers were the third-worst defensive team in the NBA last season.
Westbrook has achieved a lot during his career
Russell Westbrook was drafted with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. The point guard became an MVP player with the Thunder, and Coleman believes that he is a great example of what draft picks are supposed to be.
"Russell Westbrook signifies what draft picks are supposed to be. When people say, 'You're not gonna be this, you're not gonna be that.' That guy became an MVP player. Nobody saw that coming from Russell Westbrook."
Other players who were picked in the same draft, such as Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love, are either out of the league or have become role players.
On this Day 14 Years Ago the Seattle Supersonics drafted Russell Westbrook
22.8 PPG
7.4 RPG
8.4 APG
43% FG
— 1x MVP
— 9x All-NBA
— 9x All-Star
— 2x ASG MVP
— 2x Scoring Champ
— 3x AST Champ
— NBA 75th Anniversary team https://t.co/i1CjAQiJoe
Even though Westbrook's prime is over, the 33-year old still has a lot in his tank.