Lakers’ Russell Westbrook Parts Ways With Agent Thad Foucher

Russell Westbrook in 2017
Russell Westbrook in 2017. Photo by Austin Mcafee/CSM/REX/Shutterstock

The “irreconcilable differences” have caused the Los Angeles Lakers’ star Russell Westbrook and his longtime agent Thad Foucher to go their separate ways. Foucher confirmed the news via a statement issued to ESPN on Friday.

In the statement, Foucher said that he believes Westbrook should play out the last year of his contract with the Lakers and embrace his role with the team. While he didn’t explicitly say Westbrook is unwilling to do this, he did state that the two disagree on the “best pathway forward,” hinting that the veteran guard might be thinking about leaving Los Angeles.

“With a possibility of a fourth trade in four years, the marketplace is telling the Lakers they must add additional value with Russell in any trade scenario. And even then, such a trade may require Russell to immediately move on from the new team via buyout,” Foucher explained. “My belief is that this type of transaction only serves to diminish Russell’s value, and his best option is to stay with the Lakers, embrace the starting role and support that Darvin Ham publicly offered.”

Russell Westbrook joined the Lakers ahead of 2021-22 as a missing piece for what the Lakers believed is a championship roster. However, Westbrook’s first year in LA was an utter disaster as the Lakers missed the playoffs, and he had his statistically worst season since his sophomore year in the NBA. Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game.

Westbrook’s struggles have made him a popular choice for trade speculations. It is believed that the Lakers attempted to move on from him at various points last season but were not willing to part ways with draft compensation as an incentive for a team to take his $47 million contract.

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