Draymond Green leaped to former Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook’s aid after a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin in which a source told him that the franchise trading him to the Utah Jazz was equivalent to removing “a vampire from the locker room.”
The stinging comment wasn’t well received by the Golden State Warriors star as he shared his two cents on the issue. Westbrook’s shipping was one of the major moves of this season’s trade deadline, and it also came with this development in tow.
On his part, Green wasn’t happy and he was vocal about it on his latest episode of The Draymond Green Show.
(Starts 11:50 onwards)
“You better be certain that that is the case. Because that right there could really affect someone’s livelihood. That right there could make a team that was like, ‘We’ll sign Westbrook,’ be like, “Ah, but do I want that in my locker room?’
He further added that Westbrook was a good person and the nature of the comment was unfair. This was echoed by Nina, Westbrook’s wife to took a shot at ESPN as well.
“And me personally, I know Russell Westbrook does not have bad character. I know Russell Westbrook is an incredible dude, so I didn’t love that, but again, I can’t 100 percent dispel that because I’m not in the locker room.”
Nina didn’t mince words when he spoke of the ramifications the comment would have on his children. She took to Instagram saying:
“I have school aged children who have to listen to their peers repeat the nasty things that you guys say on television about their father. I guess I will prepare myself to explain to my 5 year old that his dad is not actually a vampire.”
Westbrook has been at the receiving end for the majority of his LA tenure, but it was reported that his relationship with the team deteriorated as the deadline appeared closer.
Russell Westbrook’s Final Game For The Lakers Didn’t End Well
While Westbrook did shine briefly as the Lakers’ sixth man, there was no doubt that he was a poor fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
And it all came to a head in the Lakers’ previous game against the Oklahoma City Thunder where coach Darvin Ham called out the guard for his poor efforts on the defensive end — something that didn’t sit down too well with the 34-year-old.
Per The Athletic, Westbrook didn’t take too kindly to the criticism:
But when Ham turned his attention to Westbrook and his specific individual struggles, sources say the future Hall of Famer appeared to take it personally. As had been the case so many times before, when the coaching staff struggled with Westbrook’s unwillingness to be held accountable for his play, Westbrook wasn’t hearing it.Ham, sources say, was upset at a number of on-court developments from the first half. But the final straw, it seems, was Westbrook’s choice to walk off the court so slowly after he was replaced late in the second quarter. For both parties, the topic of great disagreement centered on respect — or lack thereof. In the end, with the tension in the room adding to the toxicity of their environment yet again, they agreed to disagree.
Westbrook is one of the players expected to be bought out. And while there’s no telling what’s in store for his future, there’s never a doubt about what he does bring to the table to any of the teams he plays for.
But it’s safe to say, the Westbrook-Lakers saga ended sourly, just the way it was when it began.
Source: fadeawayworld
