Lakers’ Russell Westbrook: ‘Unfortunate’ that outgoing coach Frank Vogel didn’t connect with me
fired coach Frank Vogel with one year left on his contract, Russell Westbrook opened up about the issues that plagued him all season long.
After being acquired in the offseason and adding to the hype that the Lakers had championship potential, Westbrook never fully fit in with his new team
“I think it’s unfortunate, to be honest, because I’ve never had an issue with any of my coaches before,” Westbrook said Monday in a press conference. “I’m not sure what his issue was with me or I’m not sure why, but I can’t really give you an answer to why we really never connected.”
Westbrook’s 18.5 points-per-game mark was the lowest of his career since 2009-10, when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder and averaged 16.1. While Westbrook, 33, has had to alter his game slightly as he has aged, his style has been to take the ball and push the tempo up the court, being aggressive in transition and on offense.
“When I first got here, the ability to be able to do what I’m able to do for a team and an organization wasn’t given a fair chance,” he said.