“He set the place on fire before he walked out” Chris Haynes believes Russell Westbrook has burnt all bridges with the Lakers after 2022 season

Chris Haynes on Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook has not put up the season his team had desired for this season. The Los Angeles Lakers had a very bad year filled with struggle and no sense of a system whatsoever. Westbrook was one of the biggest reasons solely because he was one of the only players that stayed healthy throughout the entire regular season and did not help the team win games despite having an “okay” season.

The Lakers are now out of playoff contention and the LAL nation has not been the kindest towards their team. Their last few games were looked over as must-wins but with the loss of LeBron James and an unreliable Anthony Davis, the Lakers fell short of the play-in berths. The future of the current Lakers roster may experience changes over the off-season as the situation points towards it.
Russell Westbrook fires at the Lakers for not letting him be himself on the court

Recently, Russell Westbrook made a few controversial comments on a podcast while being interviewed about his first year with the Lakers. As many blamed Russ for the franchise’s problem, his teammates shut down the media saying it was a collective issue rather than one person’s fault. They supported Westbrook saying, “Let Russ, be Russ.”
Based on this line that was given to the media quite often, Westbrook says that he felt much different with the team. “Well that wasn’t true, let’s be honest,” indirectly calling out his teammates, LeBron and AD, as hypocrites. He further explained his time with the Lakers saying, “When I first got here, I just felt that I never was given a fair chance to be who I needed to be to better help this team. There were times and spurts, but I was just trying to find my way honestly.”
NBA insider says Russell Westbrook is mostly likely “on his way out”

After these comments, NBA insider Chris Haynes was left convinced that Russell Westbrook had signed his resignation from the franchise. He said, “He went in choosing violence. He set the place on fire when he walked out. I’m not condoning what he said, I’m not approving. I can’t see a scenario in which he’s getting back.”
“It goes deeper than him and Frank Vogel,” said Haynes who implies that Westbrook may not have only had a problem with the head coach but something else as well. “What he wants is to have control over the ball,” said Haynes over the comment Russ had made saying he was never allowed to be himself. Haynes highlighted the times Russ was given that opportunity but failed to “be himself” while turning over the ball and not closing out games. The player has a $47.1 million (US) contract extension to exercise but after the recent incident, his return to the Lakers is questionable.