Lakers' Russell Westbrook Says He Didn't Get Fair Chance, Calls Out 'Made-Up' Stories

During his exit press conference on Monday, Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook did not hold back in his evaluation of a disappointing season.

Westbrook told reporters he felt like he "never had a fair chance on the basketball front or any front" since he arrived in Los Angeles last offseason. Westbrook also said "made-up stories" were something he had to fight against this year, though he declined to give any examples.

By his standards, Westbrook had a subpar year for a Lakers team that finished 33-49 and failed to even qualify for the play-in tournament. The 2016-17 NBA MVP averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from three-point range.

It was the third-lowest scoring average of Westbrook's career. He admitted that he was "too relaxed at times, to be completely honest" playing in his home city of Los Angeles.

Westbrook has a player option worth $47.1 million for next season. It can be assumed that he wouldn't want to turn down that money, but he responded "I haven't thought that far into anything" when asked if he would exercise the option.

Anyone who watched the Lakers play this year could see they had a disjointed roster that didn't really fit together. Westbrook was expected to be a part of a "Big Three" alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but Los Angeles went just 11-10 in the 21 games all three of them played together. James and Davis missed significant time throughout the year because of injuries.

There were multiple times throughout the season when Westbrook was benched during crunch time with the game still on the line. He was asked about his relationship with the now-fired head coach Frank Vogel, and Westbrook said: "I'm not sure what his issue was with me... That's something that he has to answer."

After his candidness during his exit interview, it wouldn't be a surprise if Westbrook's tenure in Los Angeles doesn't last beyond this season.