Bradley Beal offers strong defense of Russell Westbrook

The Russell Westbrook-LeBron James experiment this season has gone down like a lead zeppelin, but one of Westbrook’s former co-stars thinks that Mr. Triple-Double is undeservedly getting a bad rap.

Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal appeared this week on Draymond Green’s podcast for The Volume. Beal was teammates with Westbrook in Washington just last season.

“That s— p-sses me off. I ain’t gone lie, bro,” said Beal of the criticism that Westbrook has gotten this season. “It really frustrates me, especially being a guy that played with him. The disrespect, that s— gotta stop, bro. It’s gotta stop because we acting like this man is not a Hall of Famer. First ballot.

“The way he plays may not be your cup of tea,” Beal added. “It may not be … [But] Russ is going to go play winning basketball, Russ is going to go get rebounds, Russ is going to make assists, Russ is going to take advantage of matchups he feels like he can. That’s Russ. He’s gonna play 100 miles an hour, he’s gonna play hard. If that’s not your cup of tea, don’t watch him. It’s been working his whole career, you’re gonna change him in Year 14?”

Beal has firsthand experience having played with Westbrook, so you have to like his respect for the former MVP. But the criticism that Westbrook has gotten has not been an attack on his body of work in the NBA but rather on the active detriment that he has been to the Lakers this season. Westbrook indeed refuses to change his game, and that has hurt both his play and his team’s performance, especially as he loses athleticism and lift on his jumper.

Many ex-MVPs (including Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, and Wizards-era Michael Jordan) appropriately got flak for not adapting their styles of play in the twilight of their careers, even if they were all-time greats. There is no reason why Westbrook should be any different, especially since the Lakers are 31-42 this year while Russ posts some of his worst numbers ever.

The vitriol aimed at Westbrook lately has gotten a bit extreme at times. But criticizing his atrocious performance on the court this season, especially for a 33-year-old making $44.2 million in salary, should be entirely fair game.