In the wake of Russell Westbrook's departure, there have been reports of insiders claiming Brodie is difficult to coach. That's definitely not anyone on the Sacramento Kings as no one has had anything but positive things to say about the legend. His departure is purely about money and nothing else.
At this point in the offseason, pretty much every indication is that Westbrook and the Kings are done for now. The Kings have had salary cap problems for a while and needed to make decisions on which free agents to keep. In the end, they settled on Precious Achiuwa as the most important.
That move makes sense. Achiuwa is a strong defensive player and has already built a real connection with the 2025 rookies the Kings brought in. It doesn't hurt that he's also on the right side of 30. As such, he fits the rebuild process Scott Perry is pushing forward surprisingly well.
Westbrook didn't check off the same boxes as Achiuwa. He's not as focused on defense and is 11 years older. That being said, he was an excellent mentor to the various rookies developing on the team. That doesn't take into account the fact that Brodie still has serious game at 37.
The rumors about Westbrook's coachability are completely false
Since the Kings parted ways with Westbrook, a rumor surfaced that some sort of anonymous source called him difficult to coach. Taking that a step further, someone supposedly warned the Heat against bringing Westbrook into their locker room. That doesn't seem like something that actually happened.
First and foremost, none of this has been corroborated at all. It has barely been reported on, and the source has neither been identified nor confirmed. So far, it just seems like a weird rumor. There's no sign that any NBA insider said this or that the Heat had any similar conversation about Brodie.
More importantly, this all flies in the face of everything the Kings have said about working with Westbrook. Scott Perry, Doug Christie, Maxime Raynaud, and several other players have spoken highly of their time with him. His departure was ultimately a business decision, plain and simple.
Can Westbrook be intense and competitive in a fashion that rubs other players the wrong way? Absolutely. But that doesn't make him toxic to the locker room. When the Kings can afford to re-sign Westbrook, hopefully they make that call, if for no other reason than to prove his haters wrong.
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