Over the last 24-48 hours, the all-consuming story around the Los Angeles Lakers has shifted, bouncing from the apparently rapidly disintegrating job security of Frank Vogel to Vogel receiving clearance from his bosses to bench Russell Westbrook down the stretch.
Westbrook was clearly upset by that choice, as the nine-time All-Star not only skipped his league-mandated postgame media availability, but Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that Westbrook did not speak with his teammates before leaving The Crypt on Wednesday. Kyle Goon of The O.C. Register added even more details, reporting that “the 33-year-old point guard nearly left the floor after he was subbed out for Malik Monk, but teammate DeAndre Jordan shepherded him back,” and then Westbrook “watched the next few minutes unfold, apparently jawing from the bench with his jersey untucked, although exactly what was said (and at whom) is still unclear.