Lakers need to put Russell Westbrook in Javonte Green role
By Jack Simone
Lakers need to put Russell Westbrook in Javonte Green role: Egos
Egos.
The problem is egos.
The ego of Russell Westbrook, the ego of LeBron James, the ego of the Los Angeles Lakers, and the ego of Rob Pelinka. That’s what it all boils down to nowadays.
Javonte Green makes $1.67 million this season. Russell Westbrook makes $44.2 million. Having both of them play the same role would be an utter embarrassment for the Lakers.
But more importantly, it would be admitting that they were wrong when they traded for Westbrook, something that they have not been willing to do for a long, long time.
Instead of admitting defeat, changing Westbrook’s role, or even trading him at the deadline, the Lakers have continuously banged their head against the wall trying to make things work.
In reality, the ideal statline for Westbrook on this Lakers team should look something like this:
10 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 8 shots/game, 1 three/game
Combine that with hustle defense and the constant ability to run in transition, and you have exactly what was mentioned at the start of the article – a supercharger, better playmaker version of Green.
It’s unfortunate that the Westbrook experiment has gotten to the point it’s at, but there’s nothing the Lakers can do about it now other than adjust. And with the way Westbrook has played, using him in a role similar to Green’s makes perfect sense.
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