Picture Credit: NBA

Los Angeles Lakers have fired their head coach Frank Vogel following a disappointing season in Western Conference. After the shocking exit of the coach, Laker's guard Westbrook in his final media session of the season opened up on his disconnect with the ex-coach and on chances given to him during the competition. According to Westbrook, he is not sure of what Vogel had with him but confessed that both never worked along well.

Westbrook called the decision quite 'unfortunate' and accepted that he 'never had any personnel issue with his ex-coach. "I'm still not sure what his issue was with me, or I'm not sure why, but I can't state any specific reason we never connected," said Westbrook on Monday. Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists on the season but struggled with efficiency in the not-so consistent year.

He shot 29.8 per cent on 3.4 3-point attempts a game for a Lakers team (33-49) that had NBA title aspirations but failed to make the postseason. The Lakers finished the season in 11th position in the Western Conference. Vogel’s dismissal was unsurprising after the Lakers, who had been expected to compete for the title again this season, missed the playoffs. The Athletic reported that the Lakers consider Nick Nurse, who won the NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, as Vogel’s replacement.

Westbrook, the highest-paid player during the Lakers' nightmarish 2021-22 season, wasn't done with his griping with just the coach, either. He also talked about several other aspects of his Lakers experience that went awry in his 21-minute news conference, detailing how he felt he was wronged. "When I first got in the Lakers, the ability and wishes to do what I'm able to do for a team and an organization wasn't given a fair chance," he said. Westbrook blamed false news reports as a contributing factor to his struggles this past season.

After previous stints with the Wizards, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers are Westbrook's fourth NBA team he's played for. The point guard won the league MVP in 2017 and is a nine-time All-Star.