Even though I was born & raised in OKC, I've been a lifelong Laker fan as most here know. I tried many years ago to warm to the Thunder because they are the home team of the city I grew up in. As each year has passed, I have grown each season in my dislike of the Thunder, with Westbrook and the Thunder fans being the main reason.
His arrogance, with a lack of respect for the history of the game and, the fact he treats others badly has soured me on ever having them as my second favorite team. His arrogance is also evident in their fanbase, with people who traditionally hated the NBA, and labelled it a league of thugs for many years, now acting like lifelong NBA experts.
The Thunder have enjoyed success way ahead of their schedule after catching lightning in a bottle with 3 future hall of famers coming to them in the draft. No one knew Harden or Westbrook would be as good as they are, and their early success gave the OKC fans an unrealistic belief about how the NBA grind would be.
After the KD departure Westbrook was handed the keys to the city by the franchise and the fans. His arrogance and disrespectful demeanor were applauded and supported while KD took the blame for everything wrong in Thunder land. The KD excuse has grown stale, and now OKC fans are slowly starting to turn on Westbrook, the monster they helped create, along with the entire front office of the team.
Sustaining success in the NBA is very hard especially for small market teams, but Thunder fans spoiled by early success can't understand this. The Thunder now have two all-stars, and a bunch of role player types who aren't as good as advertised. IMO, Presti has done a great job of making bold, unexpected moves to keep the team competitive, but the current roster isn't the KD led team who almost won a ring.
Westbrook is the face of the franchise, and he probably isn't changing anytime soon. He's a freak athlete with little b-ball IQ, and an inability to shoot, with a desire to keep jacking them up. Back when the Thunder were rising above many of the western teams who have always been relevant in the NBA, I was taunted for being a LOL Laker fan on this board, and told things like Westbrook is better than Kobe, and the Thunder will win at least 3 rings with KD and Westbrook.
We now see how good KD was was, and how much the supporting players meant to their success. I enjoyed watching Lilliard make a clown out of Westbrook, and seeing the Thunder exit again in the 1st round. The reality of how hard it is to reach and stay at the apex of the league is becoming more obvious around here. The Tramel thing is just a sign of how immature Westbrook is, and I'm no huge Tramel fan by any means. Long before the next question stuff, Westbrook fired away at media types when he felt disrespected by their questions.
Because he has been exposed lately the feud has taken center stage. Anyone can Google Westbrook interviews and see clips of him acting like an ahole during interviews over the years. It will be interesting to see how the Thunder move going forward.
So does the NBA have a right to make Russell answer Berry Tramel's questions? It seems the only thing he has achieved is to make Berry a national star. I think this goes back to Greg Popovich and the disgraceful ways he treats reporters. So what do you think?
