After being traded to the Lakers, Russell felt he had to prove himself to Frank and the rest of the team. There is a time and a place for this.
Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook talked about the lack of communication between him and Frank Vogel, the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, in his first season in L.A.
I have never had an issue with any of my coaches before, so I think it is unfortunate, to be honest.
The highest-paid player in the Lakers' history was not done with his demands for the coach. He took aim at several aspects of his Lakers experience that went wrong in his news conference.
He said that when he first arrived, the ability to do what he could for a team and an organization wasn't given a fair chance.
He blamed false news reports for his struggles this past season.
There are so many made-up stories that are not true about me, whether it be between me and the staff, me and Frank, or the fans. It is not being given a fair chance. I have to fight against this made-up story. I have to fight against this one. I'm going to fight this one. I have to fight against this one.
He didn't give a direct answer when asked if he had a fabricated story about his time with the Lakers.
"No, I can't." Westbrook said. You are familiar with the examples. I don't want to know who wrote the story or why. It doesn't matter because it's not true. It is not true if it doesn't come from me.
The best version of the former All-Star was not unlocked by Anthony Davis and LeBron James, according to the league's Most Valuable Player.
They said it, but it wasn't true.
When asked if it was down to the pieces being unable to complement one another, he said it was.
It is a combination of where we are on the floor, positioning, fit and challenge, trial and error, being able to play on the floor with each other. It is that simple.
When asked if he would exercise his $47 million player option for next season, he did not have a simple answer.
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka didn't commit to giving the James-Davis-Westbrook group another chance next season if they opt in.
Pelinka said that they will partner with him after the decision is made about his future.
In 78 games, he averaged 18.5 points on 44.4% shooting (29.8% from 3), 7.4 rebound and 7.1 assists per game, but admitted his production didn't meet his personal standards.
He said that his play was not his best season, but that it would be a good one. The scale of where it comes from is a little bit different.
Following a loss to the Phoenix Suns last week that officially eliminated the Lakers from play-in tournament contention, Westbrook said he would play for L.A. again next season so that he, James and Davis could see what they look like together They played 21 games this season because of injuries.
He said that he hopes that we have a chance to do something.
After sharing his grievances on Monday, he was asked what he would want to do to play for the Lakers again.
He said that it would be a lot of different changes based on who the coach is and how we play. We will go from there once that decision is made.
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