Report: Lakers Front Office Wants Westbrook Benched

According to NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, "there has been an increasing push among many in the Los Angeles Lakers organization" to bench the struggling Russell Westbrook. 

But head coach Frank Vogel, reports Wojnarowski, has resisted the temptation thus far. And this is despite ever-increasing problems in their relationship. 

The coaching staff and Westbrook have had differing visions on how best to utilize him and that has partly accounted for some tense moments between Vogel and Westbrook in the past several days -- including during a team film session Friday, sources said.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 6, 2022

Sources tell Woj that there have been "some tense moments between Vogel and Westbrook in the past several days, including during a Friday team film session." 

Is Vogel close to bringing Westbrook off the bench? Vogel says it's still a possibility: "Is there a path where that's the better option? We have talked about that. We've talked about everything we can do with our team. (But as of now) We're not there."

The Lakers are just 3-11 in their last 14 games, riding a 4-game losing streak, and are only 3 games away from falling out of a place in the Play-In tournament. 

Westbrook is a 9-time All-Star, and was the 2017 MVP, but his fit with LeBron and Co. has been a disaster to this point, and there have been calls to remove him from the starting lineup for months now. 

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