Lakers: Russell Westbrook Supports Idea of Him Leaving LA Via Social Media

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook is clearly keeping an eye on the Instagram chatter.

The Lakers offseason will mainly pivot on two things: who they hire as the next head coach and whether or not they decide to trade Russell Westbrook. The latter is a question that's been asked over and over again by analysts, pundits, reporters, and fans alike. If you don't have a Westbrook take, then you're probably not a NBA fan.

This week, Westbrook might have communicated a small hint as to whether or not he wants to be a Laker next season. It appears the guard "liked" a fan's post about Russ not returning to the purple and gold next year.

Russ liked this comment on his IG post pic.twitter.com/fNlieRnnnH

— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 21, 2022

It might be something, it might be nothing, it might be a photo-shopped screenshot, but if it's what it looks like, it's an interesting development. Granted, athlete's social media actions should be taken with a grain of salt most of the time.

In his exit interview earlier this month, Westbrook blasted head coach Frank Vogel and suggested that he did not have the support of LeBron James and Anthony Davis to play his style of basketball. Throw in his vitriol towards the treatment he got from some Lakers fans and it's not hard to connect the dots. Westbrook did not enjoy the first year of his Lakers experience. 

Still, it seems highly unlikely that Westbrook won't pick up his $47M player option for the coming season. But perhaps, his actions on social media say otherwise. 

If he does, that would leave it in the Lakers front office hands to trade Westbrook elsewhere.