Russell Westbrook has been an important part of the Los Angeles Lakers going from 2-10 to start the 2022-23 season to 11-16 and two games behind the 10-seed in the Western Conference. Westbrook has embraced a role off the bench, and as a result, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports that it is “increasingly unlikely” that the former league MVP will be traded between now and the NBA’s trade deadline on Feb. 9.
“Westbrook may not be thrilled with the role, but his improved play and intensity speak volumes about his willingness to accept the reality that it’s the right move for this team,” Amick wrote. “This is why Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was known to be reluctant to give up on Westbrook in those days leading into training camp, when they came so close to doing the well-chronicled deal with Indiana that would have sent Westbrook to the Pacers in exchange for big man Myles Turner and sharpshooter Buddy Hield.
Westbrook has appeared in 26 of the Lakers’ 27 games this season, but after appearing in the team’s starting lineup for the first three games of the year, he’s spent the last 23 games coming off the bench. It marks the first time since his rookie campaign that Westbrook hasn’t been a starter.
It seemed like Westbrook was more open to the idea of being a bench player coming into this year, and so far, the results have been encouraging. Westbrook has averaged 15.2 points, 7.9 assists, and 5.8 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game ever since he started coming off of the bench. And beyond that, it appears his embrace of this role has led to the Lakers deciding it’s not worth moving on from him during the final year of his contract.