"You couldn’t get much better": Austin Reaves says Russell Westbrook is one of the best teammates and human beings to be around
Russell Westbrook left a lasting impression on Austin Reaves during their stint together with the LA Lakers. The former undrafted rookie spent nearly two seasons with the superstar before “Russ” was traded to the Utah Jazz in February.
Reaves emphatically defended his former teammate from critics when he appeared as a guest on the 'All The Smoke' podcast:
(13:15 mark)
“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. As a person, you can’t get much better. I got Covid in December of my rookie year in Minnesota. I was stuck in Minnesota for seven days, so it was rough.
"He reached out like three or four times like, ‘If you need anything.’ Offered to send me stuff that I needed. As a person, you couldn’t get much better.”
Russell Westbrook was arguably a bad fit in the LA Lakers line-up as a ball-dominant point guard along with LeBron James. Despite trying to make their partnership work, they just couldn’t get it done. It didn’t help that Westbrook was so combative against the media either.
At the end of his first season in LA, Westbrook threw coach Frank Vogel under the bus. Furthermore, he told the media that he couldn’t average a triple-double every season.
The following year, Darvin Ham was hired to replace Vogel. Like the previous coach, Ham wanted Westbrook to fit with the starting unit. In the end, he had to convince “Russ” to come off the bench. The move worked for some time before LA Lakers GM Rob Pelinka ultimately traded the point guard to Utah.
While the Lakers’ terrible performances weren’t all on Russell Westbrook’s shoulders, he was undoubtedly a big part of their flop.
As a person, though, no one doubted or questioned his character in the locker room. Anthony Davis and LeBron James never criticized him for that. Now Austin Reaves has now come out to defend Westbrook as well.
Austin Reaves benefited the most after the LA Lakers traded Russell Westbrook
Before the February trade deadline, Reaves was behind Westbrook and Patrick Beverley in the pecking order. He could not consistently show what he could do as Frank Vogel and then Darvin Ham prioritized the veterans.
Once Westbrook and Beverley were eventually traded in separate deals, the Lakers gave more responsibility to Reaves. Slowly and steadily, the former Oklahoma Sooner showed what he could do with more minutes under his belt and with a bigger role on his shoulders.
Without Westbrook, Reaves averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. With “Russ” in the LA Lakers’ lineup, Reaves averaged 8.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG and 1.9 APG.
Darvin Ham believes Austin Reaves could become an All-Star caliber player. Do you agree? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/LaoMNLDu8a
Next season, Darvin Ham has already predicted their starting shooting guard will make it to the All-Star team.
It will be interesting to see if Reaves can fulfill the lofty expectations set on him.
Also read: Steve Kerr admits it was a no-brainer to include 'butt-kicking' Austin Reaves in Team USA: "It was a pretty easy choice"