Russell Westbrook's longevity will rely on his adaptability

Russell Westbrook’s disastrous season got even worse on Wednesday night as the LA Lakers were beaten 124-104 by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Poor shooting, turnovers and lack of defensive effort have plagued Westbrook’s ongoing season, as the former MVP is struggling to keep up at age 33.

Against the Timberwolves, Westbrook got a taste of his own medicine, being on the receiving end of trash talk. Throughout his career, Westbrook has been the one dishing out trash talk, being a dominant force on both ends of the floor. But with the Lakers, Westbrook looks so lost that the opponents are milking their chances of giving it to him.

Former champion Kendrick Perkins shared his love for trash-talking in the NBA and then commented on the events of the Timberwolves matchup, by saying:

“Look, it’s no fun when the rabbit got the gun. Russell Westbrook has been talking trash for years and backing it up. But now we know that him and Patrick Beverly has history. So that same noise that you were talking back in the day, you have to address that now.”

Westbrook is not the player the Lakers envisioned him to be after moving a lot of pieces to get him on board. In 68 games, he has averaged 17.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists. LeBron James, at age 37, is contributing more than Westbrook at age 33, indicating a decline in his game.

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While he’s currently on a contract with the Lakers until the end of the 2022-23 season, Perkins sees signs of worry:

“Here’s the thing about Russell Westbrook. I’m not an insider, but I have a lot of relationships around the league with general managers. And it’s going to come to a point, in probably the next year, when nobody is going to want Russell Westbrook on their roster.

“And it’s not because of his talent, it’s going to be because – ‘Is he gonna be willing to take a lesser role at this point of his career?’”

The road ahead for Russell Westbrook isn’t going to be easy

The 2021-22 season will probably go down as Frank Vogel’s toughest campaign as an NBA coach, with the Lakers’ challenges not seeming to end. From injury trouble to squad rotation, Vogel has had his hand tied in criticism for not living up to the expectations that came with a superstar roster.

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Midway through the season, Russell Westbrook was not in agreement with Vogel’s plans for him, as the superstar refused to come off the bench.

ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins highlighted the problem in Westbrook’s approach:

“The problem is that he could possibly go from being one of the highest-paid guys in the NBA to when he finishes out the contract next season to actually being on a vet minimum deal. Like this could really happen.”

“Next year’s going to be huge for him. But right now, GMs are really scared to touch Russell Westbrook.”

Westbrook is being paid $44.2 million this season and is set to be paid $47 million next season.

Unless there is a team willing to gamble on Westbrook stepping it up, he will need to adapt and be able to contribute is a lesser role.

Carmelo Anthony, his current teammate, went through that process recently and is now a valuable piece in the Lakers’ second-unit offense. Anthony, who turns 38 in May and is in his 19th season, was paid a career-high $26.2 million in 1017-18 but is making $2.6 million this season.

If Westbrook really sees that as an option, he has someone within reach who can help him with the process.