One of the biggest reasons most consider last summer’s Russell Westbrook trade a failure for the Los Angeles Lakers is his inability to consistently hit from 3-point range.
The malady has afflicted him his entire career. During his 14-year NBA career, Westbrook has made 30.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc. Considering the volume of such attempts (he has averaged 3.7 such attempts for his career), some consider him the worst outside shooter in the game.
Oddly enough, lately, he had been an adequate 3-point shooter from the corners. He actually set a career mark in that department this past season by shooting 43.8% from there.
Whether delusional or not, the Lakers are reportedly hoping Westbrook will continue to improve his accuracy from the corners.
Via Yahoo Sports:
“The team is also hopeful for a corner-3 shooting percentage bump from Russell Westbrook next season, sources said,” wrote Chris Haynes.
Even if the Lakers get their wish, it would take a lot more from Westbrook for him to fit in adequately around LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company.
New head coach Darvin Ham wants Westbrook to do damage in transition but also focus more on defense and on being productive when he doesn’t have the ball on offense.
Ham said part of his plan on how to use Westbrook involves him getting to the corners and hitting 3-pointers from those spots.
