Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has struggled mightily since joining LeBron James and company, but rumors of his NBA exit are to be taken with a grain of salt.
Sports Illustrated‘s Chris Mannix made an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show and said he would not be surprised if Westbrook retired after the current NBA season.
Westbrook, 33, has a new role as a sixth man for the Purple & Goldwhich could reshape his career should he make the right decisions.
Brody must rid himself of pride, understand that his athleticism is fleeting, and embrace a sixth man position moving forward.
Doing so would allow him to imitate what Jamal Crawford did in the later stage of his career, instead of following the Allen Iverson path.
Russell Westbrook could be Allen Iverson or Jamal Crawford
If Westbrook doesn’t accept his new role, then Mannix could have a point, but not by the point guard’s own doing.
Teams simply won’t want to pay Westbrook what he wants, so he’ll end up having to leave the league through the back door, much like Iverson.
Crawford, on the other hand, became one of the greatest “off the bench“players of his generation by accepting his new role.
Westbrook has at least five more years left in him, but he needs to become a pass-first point guard who brings energy to a second unit, otherwise, he’ll be forced to end his career prematurely.
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