Russell Westbrook made abundantly clear on multiple occasions this season that he's fed up with fan criticism. The Los Angeles Lakers guard and his family were publicly “harassed” throughout 2021-22, he and his wife, Nina, said in early March, even receiving multiple “death wishes” as a result of his underwhelming debut in purple and gold.

It's not just criticism from Lakers Nation or opposing fans that Westbrook took personally, though. He apparently cut off communication with a former teammate over the latter's opinion that the Lakers would be better off trading him.

Here's ESPN's Kendrick Perkins on the fallout between he and Westbrook.

Obviously, it's not controversial to suggest Los Angeles should trade Westbrook rather than LeBron James or Anthony Davis. James remains one of the game's best players in his late thirties, and Davis is less than two ears removed from establishing himself as basketball's top two-way player during the Lakers' run to the 2020 championship.

Westbrook, meanwhile, is a tough fit for any team in the league at this stage of his career, a non-shooter who demands the ball and doubles as an abject negative defensively. But his partnership with James and Davis proved even worse than preseason doubters predicted, with Los Angeles falling out of playoff contention over the last few weeks of the regular season.

Westbrook and Perkins were teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2010-11 to 2014-15. Their relationship clearly runs deep. Here's hoping the Westbrook and Perkins families are able to mend fences going forward.

[h/t Lakers Daily]