During Lebron’s breaking the scoring record game, Lakers guard Russell Westbrook and head coach Darvin Ham had a brief, heated verbal exchange in the locker room, in which the coach expressed frustration with how Westbrook lingered on the court after being taken out in the second quarter, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The two reportedly raised their voices but moved on quickly and dapped up before they left the arena.
The exchange occurred during an uncomfortable time for Westbrook on the Lakers, though that has basically been the case since he was traded to the team in 2021. The former MVP entered this season under a cloud of scrutiny and was pushed out of the starting lineup after last year’s disastrous season, but he has since seemed to embrace a sixth-man role.
ESPN Sources: Lakers G Russell Westbrook and coach Darvin Ham had a brief, heated verbal exchange in the halftime locker room on Tuesday vs. OKC. Ham expressed frustration with how Westbrook lingered on the playing floor after getting subbed out of game late in second quarter.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2023
Russell Westbrook and Darvin Ham had a “heated verbal exchange” during halftime of the Lakers-Thunder game, per @wojespn
Ham was frustrated with how Westbrook “lingered” on the court after being subbed out in the second quarter pic.twitter.com/nSGDdvL21N
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2023
