Russell Westbrook is not happy with how his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers went. More than the losing record and chemistry issues, the explosive guard thinks he wasn't given the opportunity to show who he is as a player.

The Lakers finished the season 33-49, 11th in the Western Conference. They missed the play-in tournament, with their recent poor run not helping their cause. Much of the blamed has been pinned on Westbrook, though, as people question his fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Not to mention that there were several times that he didn't play up to his usual standards–bricking shots here and there–which only led to more criticisms and frustrations from fans.

However, Westbrook claimed he was never given the chance to really thrive in LA, which he emphasized in his talk with the media after the team's final regular season game on Sunday.

“When I first got here, I just felt that I never was given a fair chance to be who I needed to be to better help this team,” the Lakers guard said.

Is Russell Westbrook blaming Fran Vogel here? Or is he calling out LeBron James and Anthony Davis for not understanding his style of play and forcing him to adjust fully instead of the three of them working to each others' strengths?

Whatever the case may be, Westbrook's future with the Lakers is now a major question mark after that horrendous 2021-22 season. Of course Rob Pelinka and co. can still give the LeBron-AD-Russ trio another try, especially since injuries played a big role in their chemistry woes. As LeBron said it himself, the reason they “were not very good together” is they “weren’t on the damn floor together.”

For what it's worth, Pelinka and the Lakers appear to still be undecided on what to do with Westbrook for the 2022-23 offseason. He chose to be vague on his answer when asked about it, though he seems to be leaving the door open for a Westbrook exit when he mentioned that they are going to “partner” with him to determine what's best for his future.

“Russ is a Hall of Fame player that gave everything that he could to this organization this year. He battled every game and we’re so appreciative of that. In terms of Russell Westbrook and his future — part of that’s in his control, first things first. He has a player-option. I’m sure he’ll sit down with his agent and have discussions around that. And like any player, we’ll partner with him after that decision is made on what’s best for his future,” Pelinka said.

“Again, rest assured, we’re going to look under every stone for ways to be better, and be open to anything that will improve our team and put us in a position to compete at a higher level next year than we did this year.”

While the season just ended, Russell Westbrook has already been linked with several trade rumors. Among the interested suitors and potential trade destinations mentioned are the Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets. However, until a decision is made and a trade actually pushes through, those talks will just stay as rumors for now.

The Lakers have a lot of roster problems to address. Beyond their Big 3, it has been made quite clear to them that they need to get younger and get deeper on the bench if they want any chance of returning to title contention.