It’s been a rough start to the season for Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, who is more and more looking like a player that needs to be traded with each game that goes by, but a former teammate is showing his support for Westbrook.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George was teammates with Westbrook when both were with the Oklahoma City Thunder and spoke about Westbrooks’ struggles this season.
“I’m always a huge Russell supporter” George said, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I won’t undermine the great moments we had in Oklahoma. He was tremendous for my career. Honestly, I don’t get the shade or the hate or the stuff that’s thrown at him. He’s one of the best players to ever play this game. It’s hard when you’ve got the pressure they’re putting on him here. Quite frankly, it’s not the team that’s very…it’s not geared for him with the roster they have as well. Like, it’s got to work both ways. He was very easily a 30-10-and-10 guy when he had the keys to the team. We can’t forget about that.
“For me, I just want him to keep having that joy, keep having that excitement, that fun. That’s what makes him special, the fact that he can do that on a nightly basis. I hate to see that it doesn’t look like it’s there for him. But, you know, hopefully in the end, it works out for him in his favor.”
Westbrook and the Lakers seem like they are headed for divorce, especially with Westbrook’s belief that coming off the bench in the preseason contributed to a hamstring injury. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham spoke on that.
“The Lakers, myself, my staff, we would in no way, shape or form put a player or an employee in harm’s way physically, mentally, or spiritually.” Ham said. “We don’t stand for that. We’re not about that. That’s not who we are. Second of all, Russ and I have discussed what was out there. Brief discussion. We moved on, we got an understanding. And again, as the coach of this team, we’re gonna do what’s best for our team to be as successful as it can be. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
