Russell Westbrook is not a player without his warts. He’s too ball dominant and he’s never been a good defender.
But one thing that you’ll never hear his peers say about him is that he was a bad teammate during the times they’ve played together. They normally swear by him. There’s a whole list of folks — Steven Adams, Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimura. The list goes on.
Until now, apparently. There were apparently teammates in LA with the Lakers who don’t have the most glowing review of the former Lakers’ point guard.
That makes sense — he was dissatisfied with his role in LA. But that very rarely blew up in public spaces. We’ve only seen it really happen one time. That’s why it was so surprising when ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that someone on the Lakers described Westbrook as a “vampire” in their locker room.
"As one source told me, 'You remove a vampire from the locker room.' That meaning a vampire sucks the blood out of the locker room and Russell Westbrook moves on."@mcten on the Lakers trading Russ 🧛♂️ pic.twitter.com/bDWqbxvimh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 9, 2023
“As one source told me, ‘As one source told me, ‘You remove a vampire from the locker room.’ That meaning a vampire sucks the blood out of the locker room and Russell Westbrook moves on.”
Those are extremely harsh words, man. And pretty cowardly considering that the source remained unnamed.
Considering Westbrook’s past experiences with other teammates at every other stop, it’s hard to see this as anything but him being painted as a scapegoat for the Lakers’ struggles.
That’s unfair, too. Westbrook definitely wasn’t a solution for the Lakers’ problems, but he certainly wasn’t the only problem they had on their hands.
Fans didn’t appreciate hearing this about Westbrook at all.
disgusting scapegoating https://t.co/JSz6h8ZW1k
— RE🎀 (@AbsolFairyy) February 9, 2023
This is getting SO ridiculous
(and I'm not even a Westbrook fan)The amount of hate hes gotten is absurd.
Fans blamed him for losses WHEN HE WASNT EVEN PLAYING…!??I've NEVER heard Russ criticized as a teammate until the Lakers decided he was the source of all their problems https://t.co/rBrztbAaDO
— Betsey Cashmoney (@Betsycashmoney) February 9, 2023
saying this about a guy famous for being the best locker room guy is crazy https://t.co/7dnwPTQlJY
— ziyan (@ziyanm_) February 9, 2023
Unnecessary for a source to tell a reporter this and for a reporter to repeat it on national TV. I fully understand the importance of anonymity in sourcing, but if you’re gonna say something this rude, at least be real and add your name to it.
Can’t respect this at all. https://t.co/5uinxKQa3o
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) February 9, 2023
Yikes lol https://t.co/VWRLNs6mXI
— GoldenKnight (@GoldenKnightGFX) February 9, 2023
Absolutely foul to talk about players like this. They’re still people and there are so many other ways to describe a roster construction that doesn’t work. https://t.co/8w39C52xR0
— Indu 🌙 (@_indusvalley) February 9, 2023
I ain't a fan of Westbrook but this is dirty. https://t.co/a9aHDmJuF6
— Davis #BBN #PorVida (@iAmDavis2093) February 9, 2023
This gotta be the weirdest/ most unnecessary take I ever heard https://t.co/tOgcyrCynW
— This isn't my burner (@BigAnkhleChamp) February 9, 2023
This feels excessive https://t.co/eJpiseaU1X
— Kev (@klew24) February 9, 2023
There’s absolutely no need to pile on this much. Leave the man alone. He is gone. It’s over. Everyone move on. https://t.co/WsObXL5IiJ
— karin. 🇦🇲 (@KarinAbcarians) February 9, 2023
