The Los Angeles Lakers were given a head start on the offseason after getting eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 30.
The 2025 NBA Playoffs are currently in the semifinals round, and there are several former Lakers who are still suiting up. Guard Russell Westbrook landed with the Denver Nuggets in free agency and is in the semifinals.
The Nuggets took down the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games in Round 1, but it appears it didn't happen without some drama.
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne released an article and revealed that an anonymous Nuggets player called Westbrook "immature".
Shelburne wrote, "Minutes after the Nuggets lost Game 2 of their first-round series against the Clippers, Adelman had a problem. While he'd been at the postgame lectern, there'd been a heated discussion between Westbrook and Gordon in the locker room, multiple sources told ESPN. Gordon had challenged Westbrook about his attitude. Outside the locker room, one player relayed why Gordon might've done so. ‘He's so immature,’ he said of Westbrook.”
An anonymous player on the Denver Nuggets says Russell Westbrook is ‘immature,’ per @ramonashelburne
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 13, 2025
“Minutes after the Nuggets lost Game 2 of their first-round series against the Clippers, Adelman had a problem. While he'd been at the postgame lectern, there'd been a heated… pic.twitter.com/lBegNvG36A
Russell Westbrook Got Into a Spat With Aaron Gordon
That contest was back and forth, as it had 18 lead changes and 12 ties. Denver almost escaped with the victory to go up 2-0, but that wasn't how things went down.
Instead, it sounds like Westbrook's attitude after the loss didn't sit well with some teammates, and Gordon called it out. The fact that a player called Westbrook "immature" at this stage of his season is telling. It's May, and these teams are in the postseason fighting for a chance to win a championship.
This means that this probably was been happening the whole season and it was just kept in house. He still has one more year left on his deal and played well enough to warrant coming back for another year but it's evident his attitude continues to be something that comes up.
We all know Westbrook is fiery and wants to win, but he needs to learn to tone it down at times. It will rub some people the wrong way, and that happened on April 21 after the loss to the Clippers. And that certainly popped up during his tenure in L.A.