{"id":11906,"date":"2023-02-11T01:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T01:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/11\/shock-twist-in-huge-westbrook-trade-as-wife-blasts-brutal-vampire-claim\/"},"modified":"2023-02-11T01:44:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T01:44:00","slug":"shock-twist-in-huge-westbrook-trade-as-wife-blasts-brutal-vampire-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/11\/shock-twist-in-huge-westbrook-trade-as-wife-blasts-brutal-vampire-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Shock twist in huge Westbrook trade as wife blasts brutal \u2018vampire\u2019 claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The moment Russell Westbrook was traded from the Lakers to the Utah Jazz<\/a>, the high-profile guard was expected to be bought out by his new franchise, freeing him to find a new team hoping to make a playoffs run.<\/p>\n

Westbrook was dumped by the Lakers in a three-team trade after his big-time move to Los Angeles to partner with Anthony Davis and LeBron James turned into a nightmare.<\/p>\n

Multiple teams are reportedly interested in landing the 34-year-old former NBA MVP should he secure a buyout from Utah.<\/p>\n

But Jazz general manager Justin Zanik says the team isn\u2019t set on a buyout, and both the franchise and player are open to making things work.<\/p>\n

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Sat, 11 Feb<\/p>\n

Saturday February 11th<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Watch an average of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now ><\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

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Zanik said: \u201cWe are open to all sorts of possibilities with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he has been very positive on being here in Utah and we\u2019ve been very open to the possibilities of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

That would prove a massive surprise, given Westbrook\u2019s decline in recent years and poor shooting form from beyond the arc \u2013 29.6 per cent this season.<\/p>\n

The Jazz sit 10th in the West and remain in contention for a playoff spot, despite losing a number of key players in the trade window. They lost Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, but brought in Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones. Nevertheless, the Jazz are a team in rebuilding mode, prioritising giving minutes to young players. <\/p>\n

It is hard to see where Westbrook fits in that picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time in his career he has been in a position like this and we wanted to be very transparent of where we are as an organisation,\u201d Zanik said. \u201cHe\u2019s been very open to different roles in that, and so we\u2019re just giving him some time and continuing to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThere haven\u2019t been any possibilities eliminated.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s been great. He\u2019s been great to talk to, he\u2019s such a professional and actually very complimentary of the Jazz and the organisation and is open to being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chicago Bulls have been labelled the \u2018frontrunner\u2019 to sign Westbrook should he secure a buyout. Head coach Billy Donovan has repeatedly criticised his team for their poor workrate and intensity. And while Westbrook\u2019s defence has diminished somewhat over the years, there\u2019s no doubt he can add the kind of energy Donovan is desperate for.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne team you\u2019ve got to watch and will be a frontrunner is the Chicago Bulls,\u201d Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN\u2019s \u201cNBA Today.\u201d \u201cBilly Donovan, their head coach, certainly coached Westbrook in Oklahoma City. And go further down his bench—Mo Cheeks, Josh Longstaff. There\u2019s a staff of former OKC assistants who all had good relationships and worked well with Westbrook. With the Bulls, you can certainly see how he fits just bringing some energy and some fire to that team\u2019s bench.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with the Bulls, the Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat are also reportedly interested.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, an ESPN reporter has been slammed for claiming a source said Westbrook was like a \u2018vampire\u2019 in the Lakers\u2019 dressing room.<\/p>\n

Westbrook\u2019s wife Nina reacted furiously at the claim, writing a now-deleted comment on a ESPN Instagram post about the claim.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just sick ESPN \u2026 Russell is no vampire,\u201d Nina wrote. \u201cThis also slander because anyone who knows anything knows that this couldn\u2019t be further from the truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a personal note, I have school aged children who have to listen to their peers repeat the nasty things that you guys say on television about their father. I guess I will prepare myself to explain to my 5 year old that his dad is not actually a vampire and that major news outlets only say things like that to get attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave McMenamin said on ESPN that Westbrook\u2019s exit was like \u2018removing a vampire from the locker room\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the time to do it. Russell Westbrook was not going to be part of this team after the summer when his contract expired, and also when his contract came off the books the Lakers would have less money to deal with in the free agency period this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get younger, you got shooting, you got switchable defenders, and as one source told me, you remove a vampire from the locker room. That meaning, a vampire sucks the blood out of the locker room. Russell Westbrook moves on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Warriors forward Draymond Green also hit out at McMenamin comments, saying on his podcast: \u201cYou better be certain that that is the case. Because that right there could really affect someone\u2019s livelihood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat right there could make a team that was like, \u2018We\u2019ll sign Westbrook,\u2019 be like, \u2018Ah, but do I want that in my locker room?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he was in the locker room with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and if he\u2019s a vampire in that locker room, then what\u2019s he gonna be like in the next locker room?\u201d<\/p>\n

He added the comment \u201cjust felt like a shot at (Westbrook\u2019s) character,\u201d saying: \u201cand me personally, I know Russell Westbrook does not have bad character. I know Russell Westbrook is an incredible dude, so I didn\u2019t love that \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

A host of other NBA stars including Chris Paul and Donovan Mitchell teed off at ESPN in the comments of the post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The moment Russell Westbrook was traded from the Lakers to the Utah Jazz, the high-profile guard was expected to be bought out by his new franchise, freeing him to find a new team hoping to make a playoffs run. Westbrook was dumped by the Lakers in a three-team trade after his big-time move to Los […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1793,3071,1800,3072,3077,1808,2066,3017,2697,2990,3070,1788,2225,3076,3074,1805,2407,1810,2081,1797,2165,3083,3075,1533,1809,2628,2610,3069,3082,2086,3078,3079,3081,3080,3021,1792,2695,2155,3073,1854],"class_list":{"0":"post-11906","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"tag-adrian-wojnarowski","9":"tag-agency-period","10":"tag-america","11":"tag-anthony-davis","12":"tag-billy-donovan","13":"tag-california","14":"tag-chicago-bulls","15":"tag-chris-paul","16":"tag-damian-jones","17":"tag-dave-mcmenamin","18":"tag-draymond-green","19":"tag-espn-inc","20":"tag-head-coach","21":"tag-josh-longstaff","22":"tag-justin-zanik","23":"tag-lebron-james","24":"tag-locker-room","25":"tag-los-angeles","26":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","27":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","28":"tag-miami-heat","29":"tag-multiple-teams","30":"tag-news-outlets","31":"tag-north-america","32":"tag-northern-america","33":"tag-oklahoma","34":"tag-oklahoma-city","35":"tag-playoff-spot","36":"tag-playoffs-run","37":"tag-russell-westbrook","38":"tag-shock-twist","39":"tag-shooting-form","40":"tag-switchable-defenders","41":"tag-things-work","42":"tag-trade-window","43":"tag-united-states-of-america","44":"tag-utah","45":"tag-utah-jazz","46":"tag-wife-hits","47":"tag-young-players"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}