LeBron James became known for creating the superteam era in the NBA, and the Los Angeles Lakers tried to replicate the formula when they traded for Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook was brought in to take the load off of LeBron, but instead the experiment crashed and burned in spectacular fashion.
Westbrook was eventually sent to the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal, ending what ended up being a tenuous partnership with James.
In an excerpt from Yaron Weitzman’s upcoming book ‘A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers,’ a visit from actor Will Smith highlighted the rift between the two stars, via The Ringer:
Two days after losing to the Blazers, the Lakers were back at their facility for a practice. Pelinka informed the players a special guest would be coming through. He’d created a program called the Genius Series, where he’d bring in luminaries from various fields—Dwayne “The Rock’’ Johnson, Kendrick Lamar, Elon Musk—to address the team. For this day, he’d secured an A-lister: Will Smith, just six months removed from slapping Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards.
The team gathered in the film room to review the Blazers game. Ham was tough on the group, highlighting all sorts of mistakes that had led to the 0-3 start. When the session concluded, Pelinka came by.
He’d already shown Smith the practice court—they shot free throws together—and Jeanie Buss’s office. Now, he told the players, Smith was on his way to them.
When Pelinka and Ham left to fetch him, LeBron, seated in a middle row, stood up.
Y’all got this, he said.
He stormed out a back door.
Shit, man, Davis said.
He stood and followed LeBron out.
Stunned, the rest of the players sat there, looking at each other, unsure what to do.
“We’re like, ‘Yo, what the fuck is going on?’” one recalled.
Westbrook rose next.
So, we all leaving? he asked.
Nah, Russ, said Patrick Beverley, a brash veteran point guard the Lakers had acquired over the summer. We gotta stay.
Westbrook didn’t understand. What do you mean? he asked.
Them two guys can do whatever the fuck they want, Beverley said. They won a championship.
As the two went back and forth, it became clear to the other players in the room what Westbrook was thinking: As a nine-time All-Star, and former MVP, and future Hall of Famer, why would there be a difference between him and them?
Pelinka came back in.
We ready? he asked
We ain’t ready, Beverley said. We need five minutes.
Pelinka left.
Minutes later, Ham reentered and sat silently at the front of the room as Westbrook and Beverley continued arguing. He then stood up and exited through the same door LeBron and Davis had used. Soon after he returned with both stars. Next, Ham went to get Pelinka and Smith.
When they all returned, Smith was greeted with smiles and daps. Smith talked to the players about his new movie, Emancipation. He talked about overcoming adversity. He cracked some jokes at the team’s expense. Then he opened the floor for questions.
LeBron was first. He had a question, he said. Smith answered. Then LeBron had another question. And another after that and another after that and another after that. On and on he went, stretching what was supposed to be a 30-minute session into nearly an hour.
“The same guy who was trying to leave is now quoting back movie lines and going through the guy’s whole life story,” one attendee recalled thinking. Seated in the third row, picking at a bowl of fruit, Westbrook watched in disbelief, shaking his head and rolling his eyes every time LeBron spoke.
I hate that fake shit, Westbrook said to a teammate afterward, as the Lakers gathered for a team photo. I just can’t do it.
There were hints and rumors that things between James and Westbrook reached untenable levels, and this account seems to confirm that. While James has had nothing but good things to say about Westbrook publicly, it seems that behind the scenes there’s still some bad blood.
More anecdotes like this can be found in Weitzman’s book, which is set to be released on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
LeBron James targeting mid-November return
LeBron James has a new costar in Luka Doncic to run things while he recovers from a sciatica issue. As of now, James is reportedly targeting a mid-November return to the court and the Lakers are certainly hoping that’s true.
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