LA Lakers’ big three make a commitment to the team over a phone call
On the first weekend of the NBA’s Summer League, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook spoke to each other. They held a meeting via phone call. The LA Lakers’ big trio expressed its total commitment to making the team work better next season.
Last summer, when Westbrook came to LA Lakers, the trio was formed, and they were a force that is hard to ravage. However, the Lakers grapple with a lot of issues. Some of which is the lack of force due to health issues and the lack of defense and production from their supporting team members.
Most of the blame came down to Westbrook, who then struggled with his shootings. Despite his points averaging 18.5 with 7.1 assists and 7.4 rebounds, he still has a high turnover rate.
LeBron, Russ and AD “huddled up on a phone conversation” amid recent uncertainty and are “vowing to make it work,” per @ChrisBHaynes pic.twitter.com/dTDVyosj2f
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 18, 2022
Furthermore, LeBron James, Westbrook, and Davis were planning to change the game this time. The Laker’s big three huddled on a phone call to ensure they were both on the same page. Especially when it comes to improving the team next season, the trio wanted to make sure they won’t repeat last season’s disappointing mayhem.
Their phone meeting comes after the rumors about Westbrook’s blurry future with the Lakers. Westbrook will earn $47 million in the 2022-’23 season. This is before he hits the free agent market by next summer.
There are rumors that Westbrook will be thrown into the trade scenarios as the Brooklyn Nets seemed to be looking into the possibility of parting ways with one of their star player and point guard, Kyrie Irving.
If the deal is pushed through, the Lakers won’t only lose Westbrook’s one-year contract, but it will also mark the reunification of the James and Irving tandem.
The Los Angeles Lakers struggles last season
After withstanding the disappointing season of 2021-22 with the Lakers missing their chance to the playoffs, it was prevalent that the trio would only be standing for one year.
Most triple-doubles over the last 6 seasons:
157 — Russell Westbrook
76 — Nikola Jokic
63 — LeBron James
60 — James Harden
46 — Luka Doncic
32 — Ben SimmonsRuss has more than Jokic and LeBron combined. pic.twitter.com/9jayQFQoJU
— StatMuse (@statmuse) July 18, 2022
Moreover, Westbrook struggles to maintain a stable groove during his first season with the Lakers. But fans and sports enthusiasts saw him as one of the main contributors to the team’s shortcomings.
After enduring last season’s battles, LA Lakers changed their head coach Frank Vogel to Darvin Ham. The new coach was rooting for Westbrook as he kept harping on the point guard’s pivotal role in the team this next season.
While Westbrook, on the other hand, is looking to make some self-improvements. The former MVP parted ways with his long-term agent Thad Foucher. He claims they have some “irreconcilable differences.”
