According to head coach Frank Vogel, the Los Angeles Lakers have indeed discussed making the One Bold Move: bringing Russell Westbrook off the bench.

The Lakers were rolled by the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, 132-111. It was the Lakers' fourth loss in a row since the All-Star break and 11th in 14 games. Ty Lue is now 7-0 against the Lakers since becoming the Clippers skipper. The Lakers dropped to a season-worst 27-35, two games up from the No. 11 seed.

Russell Westbrook wasn't terrible. He scored 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in 29 minutes. That said, he wasn't particularly good either. He had three assists. He missed two ill-advised three-point attempts. He didn't play a lick of defense.

Then, as the game was getting away from the Lakers, Reggie Jackson (36 points) embarrassed Westbrook with a filthy crossover, leading to a regrettable tripping attempt from Russ. Over the next two possessions, Jackson converted a deep three and a tough layup in traffic, while Westbrook clanked a three and a layup.

The Clippers outscored the Lakers 40-18 in the third quarter.

Heading into Thursday's contest, Westbrook — earning $44 million this season — had averaged 13.7/6.6/5.4 on .354/.143/.643 shooting splits over nine games since the beginning of February. The idea of him blossoming into a third-banana for a title contender flew out the window long ago. For one thing, Anthony Davis' injury has eliminated the No. 2 in command. Even so, Russ — both due to the awkward fit and his own rigid approach — has proven incapable of consistently producing like a star.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bS8UiZo3SFCm4SvDh5uv5?si=b23baa6318964a37

Back in January, Vogel made the intrepid decision to bench Westbrook — the team's highest-paid player, a future Hall of Famer, former MVP, and NBA Top 75 member — in crunchtime. The Lakers lost anyway, and Vogel stoked tensions by curtly saying he was “playing the guys I thought we’re gonna win the game.” Vogel reportedly had the OK of the front office to make the call He has kept Westbrook on the bench for a few more late-game occasions since.

During his postgame remarks on Thursday, Vogel was asked point-blank about the seemingly third-rail topic for which many Lakers fans have been clamoring. Russ has not come off the bench in an NBA game since his rookie season of 2008-09. Once again, Vogel was blunt.

“We’ve talked about everything, yes,” he said, cutting off the reporter's question when he knew where it was going. “We’ve talked about everything.”

“We’re trying to find solutions that are best for the team,” Vogel said, prior to the Russ follow-up question. “That’s everything that we’re doing. We’re looking at all of our players and how we’re using them. If we’re getting down 20 every night, we’re going to adjust our team.”

In theory, bringing Westbrook off the pine would enable him to lead second-units while LeBron rested. However, lineups with Westbrook as the lead play-maker have struggled all season. Russ, understandably, did not respond well to prior fourth-quarter benchings. Is it worth the potential locker room anarchy for a risky move this late in a season going nowhere, regarding a player who will likely not be with the team in 2022-23?

Whether the Lakers do it or not, the elephant in the room has now been called out. It's in the atmosphere, and will undoubtedly be a conversation topic on TV and social media over the…rest of Westbrook's career?