If there's any trade in recent history that deserves an over-the-top reaction, it's Russell Westbrook going to the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA world lost its collective mind after the trade went down, in a mix of reactions that range from “LA has the title on lock” to “This is going to be a train wreck”.
But apparently the news was so big that it broke the king of hyperbolic reactions – ESPN analyst and professional loud person Stephen A. Smith. Instead of voicing out his opinion on the Lakers trade in his usual grandiose fashion, Smith toned it way down in order to give a poignant take on what this all means for Russell Westbrook.
“There will never have been more pressure on Russell Westbrook than this upcoming season,” Smith said of the newly minted Lakers guard. This is the most pressure he has been through in his career.
Now to be fair to him, he doesn't give a damn. Russell Westbrook don't care about much. He a rough rider, he's pig-headed, he's strong-willed. He don't give a damn. But from the outside world looking at him, more than ever before, his resume is going to come into play.”
My reaction to Russell Westbrook now being on the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/eFMrxbkOE5
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 30, 2021
Throwing aside all the memes and mockery that the Russell Westbrook trade to the Lakers has generated thus far, Stephen A. Smith certainly speaks a truth. You can debate all you want, one way or another, on how the trade will work out. But until play begins, nobody will truly know.
What we do know is that this will be a defining season for Russell Westbrook's career. If he can come out of this experience a champion, the entire narrative of his NBA journey will change for the better. And if not? Well let's just say the memes will come tenfold.
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