Russell Westbrook Opts-In on $47.1 Million Player Option with Lakers
Today, Russell Westbrook has exercised his $47.1 million contract option. This guarantees that he will be in Los Angeles going into next season. Kyrie Irving did the same thing in Brooklyn, and rumors about him being interested in joining the Lakers have quickly dissipated. However he also opted in on his player option in Brooklyn. Russ did the exact same thing.
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Now the Lakers will roll the dice with Russ who is certainly looking to have a better season than his first. With Darvin Ham Sr. taking the new head coaching job for the Lakers, he could be a great reason for Westbtrook to see much more success. The team is counting Russ to work with Ham and have a bounceback season after averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 boards, and 7.1 assists.
It’s also important to remember that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were injured last season. This only allowed Westbrook to play 21 games last season with LeBron and AD. This certainly had an impact on his production, as those guys were the only two players on the Lakers roster with whom Russ has built some chemistry with. There is room for the star-studded PG to expand his offense with the rest of the Lakers squad. Last season was the first since his second year in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder that Westbrook has averaged less than 20 points per contest.
The Lakers are hoping that AD and LeBron can remain healthy for the vast majority of the 2022-23 NBA season. If this ends up being the case, Westbrook will have many more opportunities to develop even better chemistry with the Lakers stars than he has in the past. In his second season with the Lake show, expect Russ to have a bounceback season now that he’s opted in on a fat $47.1 million player option.
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