Tag: Russell Westbrook

The Lakers must really hate Russell Westbrook

Brandon King

Granted he did himself no favors at all with his play, particularly in the first few months of the season; ceasing the diagnosis of what went wrong in Los Angeles last season by heaping all the blame on Russell Westbrook, at that point is both ham-handed and myopic. It is more nuanced than that because frankly last season Russell Westbrook was never put in a position to succeed. Taking things back to before he ever donned a Lakers gamer in an NBA game, anyone with basketball brain 1 could have…

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They are already gearing up the Westbrook blame

Brandon King

Barring miraculous, sweeping changes to their roster, all indications are that the Los Angeles Lakers will once again be the worst pro basketball team in LA. Unlike last season the gas bags in the sports media have not to wait until the year tipped off to find a scapegoat, they are already planting those seeds in the hopes they will blossom into a Westbrook-Ham blame tree. When this season takes its inevitable nosedive, the sports media and Laker ”fans” new favorite whipping man Russell Westbrook and new head coach Darvin…

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Lakers will need better offer to get Kyrie

Brandon King

The Kevin Durant trade request has branched off into the reinvigoration of the Russell Westbrook trade speculation, with the Nets emerging as the likely trade partner and Kyrie Irving the Lakers target. The Lakers desire to move Westbrook ( who, for a variety of reasons, they never should have acquired in the first place) is not only the worse kept secret in the NBA , but quite possibly in all of pro sports. This fact should put the Lakers on the wrong side of the leverage equation in any trade…

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Russell Westbrook opts in on $47 million player option

Brandon King

In a move that surprised no one, the favorite whipping boy of Laker nation ,as well as the LeRichard riders in the media, Russell Westbrook opted in the $47 million player option. Westbrook was acquired last season in a deal that confounded those with a modicum of basketball knowledge , who questioned the fit and how the skillset of the three Laker star would mesh. The most optimistic ( or delusional) Lakers fans and media arm of clutch sports had the the team, at minimum in the Western Conference Finals.…

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Russell Westbrook is not the main reason the Lakers stink

Brandon King

Criticizing Russell Westbrook is en vogue right now. Turn to nearly any national sports show and at some point and listeners will be subjected to Westbrook slander of varying degrees. The problem is not with the critical light shone upon Westbrook, per so, but the issue is the false narrative that the spets media is attempting to spin that Russell Westbrook is the anchor that is dragging the Lakers to the bottom of the Western Conference. Any and every Westbrook miscue is magnified to the highest degree, while the gaffes…

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Who is really at fault that the Lakers stink

Brandon King

The Los Angeles Lakers , a franchise that is a paragon for excellence, a crown jewel organization not only in the NBA but around the world is now viewed as a drama-filled laughing stock. This season , the Lakers have fallen flat on their collective faces, hovering at or below .500 for most of the season. The acquisition of Russell Westbrook, who anyone with basketball brain 1 was questionable at best, has been, for a variety of reasons, been an abject failure. Anthony Davis has been playing with the intensity of…

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NBA fans thinks trades are easy

Brandon King

NBA fans always want their teams to get better and front offices, at least the competently run ones, are always in search of ways to improve the rosters of their ball clubs. Over the past decade-plus, free agency has become the most immediate way for a franchise to elevate themselves to the upper echelons of contending teams. The other way is via player swaps, also known as trades. We have seen over the course of the history of the NBA that the right trades have altered the course of players,…

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Russell Westbrook is officially introduced as a Laker: the highlights

Brandon King

Russell Westbrook was officially introduced as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers Monday. Here are a few of the highlights: Here is what the L.A. native had to say about playing for the Lakers: Westbrook was acquired in a trade (how and when that trade may have been worked out is a discussion for another day) that sent Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the 22nd pick in this year’s draft.

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Russell Westbrook back in lineup against Spurs

Brandon King

The Washington Wizards announced that guard Russell Westbrook will play Sunday evening against the San Antonio Spurs. Westbrook had missed the last week plus with a left quad injury. Westbrook has played in eight games for the Wiz, averaging 19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 11.3 assists.

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