Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook spoke to media after a disappointing Lakers season where they missed the playoffs and head coach Frank Vogel parted ways with the team.
In his availability, Westbrook discussed how he felt he was "never given a fair chance" when it came to his arrival in Los Angeles.
After winning the NBA Finals in the 2020 bubble format playoffs in Orlando, the Lakers traded away key role players in exchange for Westbrook on the night of the 2021 NBA Draft, sending picks along with Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell to the Washington Wizards.
Since his arrival in Los Angeles, the Lakers have gone 33-49 and Westbrook has averaged his lowest points per game total since the 2009-10 season, averaging just 18.5 points per game.
Usually a key ball-handler on previous teams, Westbrook had the lowest usage rate since his second season in the league as he appeared more off-ball thanks to lining up alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the Lakers' rotation.
"It wasn’t a successful season by any means from top to bottom, there are so many different things that you can point to... overall not a successful season from top to bottom, from my perspective," said Westbrook.
Westbrook set a league record for triple-doubles, scoring his record-breaking 182nd triple double in a tight loss against the Atlanta Hawks in May of 2021, but as his usage lowered with the Lakers, he recorded just 10 this season.
With Vogel out of the picture, there is a chance Westbrook may return to the Lakers for the 2022-23 season with them picking up his $47 million player option, citing concerns with the coach.
