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Russell Westbrook's start with the Los Angeles Lakers has been far from ideal. While there were flashes of brilliance, his struggles have overshadowed it and only raised further questions about his fit with the team.
It's no longer a new issue. After all, fans and experts alike shared the same concern when the Lakers traded for Westbrook during the offseason. A lot of people wanted a shooter to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis' style of play, but instead, they acquired a superstar player who needs the ball in his hands to operate and make an impact.
The concerns have proven to be true–at least in the first few games of the 2021-22 campaign–as Westbrook continues to have a difficult time making a winning impact to the Lakers. Unfortunately for the Purple and Gold, a rival front office executive doesn't see it going away unless the team makes drastic changes to its roster.
Article Continues Below“Fit wise, it will probably be a struggle all year, especially when everyone is healthy, because LeBron needs to get the ball, AD needs to get the ball and Russ especially needs the ball in his hands to be effective since he is a non-shooter when playing off the ball and just not that good at it. You add in ‘Melo, who needs his touches too and you have four guys who all want/need the ball to do what they do best. Plus, Russ just isn’t going to shy away from taking the shots he wants to take,” the anonymous exec told Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The Lakers are 3-3 on the season, showing a lot of inconsistency so far. After blowing a 26-point lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday–with Westbrook turning the ball over 10 times–they bounced back against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a resounding 113-101 victory.
Clearly, Frank Vogel and Co. have not yet figured out the best way to integrate their new pieces together. While it's still too early to make any significant assessment, it's hard to blame fans for expressing their fears about the team.
There were some talks that Russell Westbrook could be better off playing in the second unit, so that he will have more opportunities to have the ball in his hands. It's not a crazy proposition since the Lakers have quality bench players like Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Malik Monk and Kent Bazemore, which should be more than enough to keep the team going when their other stars rest.
It remains to be seen what the Lakers will do to address their situation. Nonetheless, it certainly won't harm the team if they try experimenting on their starting lineup as early as now to see how things work out. Besides, at the end of the day, they all share the same goal: winning the Larry O'Brien trophy.
