NBA – Russell Westbrook destroyed by a Nuggets teammate: “He’s so immature”

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

Russell Westbrook hasn’t exactly been having a smooth season since landing in Denver. The point guard found himself at the center of yet another controversy in the middle of the playoffs, with a teammate speaking harshly to ESPN about him…

The Nuggets literally have no room for error left. Beaten last night by the Thunder after a completely botched end to the game, David Adelman’s men are now 3-2. Their goal is simple: either they win the next two games to reach the conference finals, or they go on vacation. A hell of a lot of pressure…

Under such conditions, it’s imperative that the team remains united. Except that things seem to be going badly at the moment, as Russell Westbrook is reportedly becoming increasingly irritating internally, according to a report written by Ramona Shelburne. The ESPN insider revealed that an anonymous teammate of the star reportedly sharply reprimanded him:

Russell Westbrook’s behavior at the Nuggets called into question?

While (David Adelman) had been at the postgame lectern, there’d been a heated discussion between Westbrook and Gordon in the locker room, multiple sources told ESPN. Gordon had challenged Westbrook about his attitude. Outside the locker room, one player relayed why Gordon might’ve done so. “He’s so immature,” he said of Westbrook.

As a reminder, Westbrook was already one of the reasons behind the firing of coach Michael Malone at the end of the regular season, having been given too much playing time in the eyes of several members of the roster. But is this new controversy really justified? Because Aaron Gordon, supposed opponent of Brodie in the dispute mentioned above, immediately reacted after Game 5 to set the record straight:

I don’t feel like talking about the game. Earlier I caught wind of an article that came out about Russell Westbrook in our locker room after Game 2, which was a completely arbitrary article, pointless. Whoever it was that put it out… Russ is one of the most talented basketball player who has ever played. Quite frankly, he’s been great for us all year long. We’re brothers, we spend more time with our team than we do with our family. Of course, there’s gonna be disagreement.

But that conversation wasn’t for anybody but our own group, the internal workings of our locker room. That article is just so arbitrary and so far from the truth. Russ has been amazing for us and not only has he been a great basketball player, but he’s an even better human being. And he’s gonna continue to be great for us, and he’s gonna have a huge impact, and he’s gonna help us win these next two games.