Former Lakers Guard Russell Westbrook Seems to Take Shot at LA While Discussing Role With Nuggets

John Robinson | Sep 29, 2024

Jan 30, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook (0) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets guard Edmond Sumner (4) during the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Russell Westbrook's time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers did not go as hoped for when the front office decided to pair him alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The former league MVP was traded ahead of the 2023 NBA deadline after the Big 3 experiment was clearly a failure.

Lakers fans and media correspondents were critical of Westbrook's play, despite the fit being an obvious mismatch. Westbrook is a player who had made a Hall-of-Fame career off dominating the basketball, and on the team with James, that was never going to be the case.

Previous head coach Darvin Ham tried to move Westbrook into an off-ball role which was never going to work because it was asking the former UCLA Bruin to make a massive change to his game. The criticisms that Westbrook faced as a member of the Lakers should be more geared towards the Los Angeles front office as they tried to experiment with a player who clearly was not going to mesh well with his co-star's style of play.

After a brief two seasons with the Clippers, Westbrook signed with the Denver Nuggets as he looks to shed the unfair narratives that have surrounded him following his time in Los Angeles. Westbrook still has multiple qualities that basketball teams in the NBA should covet such as his, leadership, energy, motor, and ability to push the pace in transition.

It will be interesting to see if he can develop into an above-average on-ball defender on this Nuggets team, however, with the energy that Westbrook gives on a consistent basis there should be optimism that he can thrive in a new role in Denver.

During the Nuggets media availability on Saturday, Westbrook spoke with reporters about his skill-set and how it will fit in Denver compared to how it did on previous teams.

“To be honest, (my skill-set) was unique, they just didn’t put me in position to be unique. I was in a position where I was playing not my position.”

“Coach Malone allowing me to use my speed…”

Russell Westbrook on his unique skill-set and fit in Denver vs. previous stops:

“To be honest, (my skill-set) was unique, they just didn’t put me in position to be unique. I was in a position where I was playing not my position.”

…

“Coach Malone allowing me to use my speed…” pic.twitter.com/jyiVM3yVlI

— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) September 28, 2024

To get the best out of Westbrook his new head coach Michael Malone will have to allow him to himself. Changing the NBA's All-time triple-double leader game will not allow the Nuggets to get the best version of him. It will interesting to see how he meshed with Nikola Jokic and shared a backcourt with Jamal Murray.

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