Lakers News: Tensions With Russell Westbrook Over Last Week Made Trade Inevitable

The writing was on the wall for a Westbrook this trade season.

The last game Russell Westbrook suited up for the Lakers came on a historic night in which we witnessed LeBron James become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Despite all of the animosity surrounding LA this season, this was a night to look forward to and it was expected all of James' teammates would play with celebratory attitudes.

However, with just under a minute left in the second quarter, James would check into the game for a struggling Westbrook as he tried to tack on more points before the conclusion of the first half. The sixth man did not look pleased and took his time to walk off the court, even catching the attention of the announcers.

This was the play that got Darvin Ham and Russell Westbrook screaming at each other in the locker room https://t.co/jIedKUJW7k

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) February 8, 2023

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski would then hop on Twitter following the Laker's 133-130 loss and report a verbal exchange between Westbrook and LA's head coach Darvin Ham. He regarded the exchange as a heated one that resulted in Ham's frustration over the former MVP lingering on the court for so long.

ESPN Sources: Lakers G Russell Westbrook and coach Darvin Ham had a brief, heated verbal exchange in the halftime locker room on Tuesday vs. OKC. Ham expressed frustration with how Westbrook lingered on the playing floor after getting subbed out of game late in second quarter.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2023

This behavior from Westbrook on Tuesday night sums up this final stretch of his chapter with the purple and gold and further shows why a trade was bound to happen. His name had been linked to trade packages for almost a year now and many were surprised to even see him still on the roster following a down year in productivity last season.

We would come to find out via Jovan Buha of The Athletic, that it was this past week when the organization decided that enough was enough. Westbrook's actions in both the locker room and on the court had become detrimental to the team.

"The Lakers-Westbrook situation had become untenable over the past week or so, multiple team and league sources close to the situation told The Athletic," said Buha. "Both sides were ready to move on from a partnership that never really made sense to begin with."

It'll be interesting to see where the current favorite for Sixth Man of the Year will end up following reports that Utah is likely to buy out his contract. A reunion with Paul George on the Clippers and a chance in Miami are being noted as the most likely destinations as of now.