Russell Westbrook has always had a contentious relationship with the media, as he has never been one to engage with the rumor mill. At times, Westbrook has been combative with the media, especially when something is affecting his career directly. One such case was the rumors that circulated this past summer as Ramona Shelburne reported that Westbrook was supposed to go with Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers, however, Kawhi decided to choose Paul George instead.
Today, during a Lakers press conference, this report was brought up by Bill Oram of The Athletic, and unsurprisingly, Russ was not having it whatsoever. The Lakers point guard even lashed out a bit at the media, noting that unless it comes from him, he doesn’t want to hear it or engage with it.
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Via ClutchPoints:
“Oram: Hey Russ, on the PG front, before he ended up with the Clippers, there was some reporting that you had some interest maybe in joining up with Kawhi. I’m just curious how you look at it, and how that story has played out for the two of you since that moment.
Russ: Reports from who?
Oram: I think there were a couple of different reports over this summer that you had maybe had some conversations with Kawhi and then that was used maybe to faciliate PG coming to the Clippers.
Russ: I know. You didn’t tell me who it was from … If you can’t tell me who you got it from then I can’t answer the question.”
This was then followed up by a lengthy discussion in which Westbrook was adamant that Shelburne’s report was bogus and that the sources were wrong. Numerous reporters tried to chime in and defend Shelburne, but Russ stuck to his guns the entire time.
You can check out a longer transcript of what happened, at the “via” link down below.
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[Via]