“To be frank, I find it unfortunate because I’ve never had a problem with my coaches before. », let go Russell Westbrook about a month ago, in reaction to the dismissal of Frank Vogel. As one might suspect, the relationship between the two men was one of the keys to the dismissal of the Lakers coach.
The Athletic indeed reports that, when it was decided to fire the technician, his management of the point guard and his inability to find a way to make him more productive were important factors.
The leaders would have considered that it was up to the coach to make sure that the Westbrook experiment worked. And the fact that it didn’t work questioned whether the point guard had been put in a position to succeed.
“Russ never respected Frank, from the start”
But did the coach only have a sufficient base vis-à-vis the newcomer? A month ago, the Los Angeles Times, which looked in depth at the “ most disappointing season in Lakers history had echoed problems that had emerged from the “training camp”.
« Russ never respected Frank, from the start”had thus delivered a member of the staff of the Lakers, quoted by the Californian daily. “When Frank said that anyone can come up the field after taking the rebound, like in the NBA today, Russ said, ‘Nah, I’m the point guard. me the ball. Everyone is running.’ Frank said to him: ‘No, we have Talen (Horton-Tucker), Austin (Reaves), Malik (Monk), LeBron (James), AD (Anthony Davis). They can all get the ball up.’ He said like, ‘Nah, I’m the playmaker. Give me that damn ball. Everyone gets out of the way.’ »
Difficult, starting from that foot, to establish a serene relationship, even if Russell Westbrook had partly been recruited with a view to relieving LeBron James to wear the leather.
So many elements that suggest that the Lakers are with a view to giving themselves a second chance with the leader (without really having the choice, given the contract), with a coach capable of adapting to him, and not the reverse…
