Lakers Fans Rejoice Hearing Stephen A. Smith Claim Russell Westbrook Wants Out Of LA

Drama continues to follow the Russell Westbrook saga in Los Angeles. Stephen A. Smith is now reporting that the point guard wants out of LA.

Let’s backtrack to the beginning.

Ahead of the 2021-22 season, LeBron James actually recruited Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, reportedly taking the veteran over DeMar DeRozan. That move didn’t work out, however, as Russ struggled with inconsistency and the team missed the playoffs.

This offseason, the trade talks began. The Lakers shopped Westbrook around, but not many were willing to pay the price being asked for the former star. Westbrook signed a $47M player option to stay in LA for one final season, making the front office a bit less motivated to put him on the chopping block.

But the time for a change might come no matter the loss on investment incurred by the Lakers. Russell Westbrook apparently wants out of Los Angeles following a rough start to the 2022-23 season.

Stephen A. Smith claims that Russell Westbrook “wants to be gone” when discussing his future in LA.

The popular sports personality made an appearance on ESPN to talk about Russ’s future with the team. Here’s what he had to say.

“[Russell Westbrook] knows they want him gone. From what I’m hearing, he practically wants to be gone, but they can’t just let him go for nothing. So, you’ve got to find a way to add something in return for whatever asset he brings to the table.”

From what Smith says, both parties are ready to sever the relationship, but the inability to trade Westbrook is the only thing holding up the parting. It’s understandable that each would want to start fresh.

Westbrook has gotten off to a slow start, shooting just 29% from the floor through three games. The Lakers have dropped all three of those contests as they started the year winless. A departure would make a lot of fans in LA happy, at least judging by the initial social media reaction.

One person wrote, “I’ll help him pack and give him a trip to LAX,” after seeing the report regarding Russell Westbrook’s feelings towards the Lakers.

Others shared the same sentiment, with this fan commenting, “Hurry up then.”

Russ knows that the fans, and possibly some within the team and front office, are ready to move on. The key question is, “What can the Lakers get for Westbrook?”

Obviously, the interest wasn’t there this offseason, at least not at the price the Lakers were asking. We’ll see if Los Angeles considers dropping that price should suitors make offers in an attempt to get a deal done before the season gets away from them.

Related: Russell Westbrook buys $37M home, becomes LeBron James’s next-door neighbor