Russell Westbrook wasn’t in an especially great mood after the Thunder lost to Houston on Sunday, 113-109. He was awesome – Westbrook had another triple-double and Oklahoma City was +14 when he was on the floor, but when he didn’t play, the team obviously struggled.
This led to some questions about the caliber of the Thunder roster beyond Westbrook. After the game, Westbrook was joined by Steven Adams in the postgame press conference. Adams was asked about the team’s struggles by Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman, which led to Westbrook going off, essentially saying that the media was trying to divide the team when they’re all in this together.
Depending on what you think of Westbrook, it was either a good or a bad look. It was good in that he had his teammates’ back. It was bad in that he took a question meant for Adams, which made him look like a control freak.
On Monday, Tramel went onto Dan Patrick’s radio show and alleged this. He wasn’t necessarily admitting this in the context of his exchange with the Thunder star, but he did say that he would take Kevin Durant or James Harden over Westbrook because those two are easier to live with.
“I think he is a control freak,” Tramel said. “Control freak might be too heavy, but it might not be, either.”
All of this comes with the massive disclaimer that Westbrook actively dislikes Tramel – he’s said as much in the past to Tramel’s face. There is some tension between the two, although that doesn’t necessarily mean Tramel is out to get Westbrook or anything.
To listen to Tramel’s entire interview with Patrick in which he discusses Westbrook at length, click here.
