Vince Carter Compares Russell Westbrook's Situation With Lakers To Allen Iverson: "Allen Iverson Did Not Want To Come Off The Bench, And He Could Not Handle Coming Off The Bench."

Vince Carter explains the similarities between Russell Westbrook and Allen Iverson when they had to new roles in the league.

Ever since he left the Oklahoma City Thunder in the tumultuous summer of 2019, Russell Westbrook had some issues taking on lesser roles wherever he went. After leaving the Thunder, he reunited with James Harden, and that fit wasn't good at all for either player. 

Following that, he teamed up with Bradley Beal in Washington, and even though they reached the playoffs and Russ played great, that tenure didn't have the desired outcome. He's been a part of the Los Angeles Lakers for the past two seasons, and things haven't gotten any better. 

In fact, Russ has been on the receiving end of criticism almost every day he's spent in Southern California, with fans asking the front office to ship him away and celebrating when they learned that Russ wants out of the Lakers. 

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Vince Carter Compares Russell Westbrook's Situation With Lakers To Allen Iverson

It's pretty clear that Russ' ego has been hurt in the past two seasons, especially when he's been taken out of action late in games and sent to the bench. This is obviously a big shock for somebody who was used to leading his teams. Now, playing with two other stars, things have been complicated for Westbrook. 

Somebody who went through a similar path recently discussed this situation, admitting that it's hard to be the star of a team and then see your role decrease until you become another role player. Vince Carter spoke about this, explaining how difficult it is for players. 

“Russ has been Russ for a very long time, and the toughest thing to accept is not now being in as a closer–you’re sitting there watching all of a sudden. Uncharted territory for him, if you would,” Carter said.

“And sometimes it takes a little getting used to because it’s a shot to your ego. I’m speaking from experience. Starter. Go-to guy. All-Star. You get a new role and it sounds good and you buy in until you really have to buy in. Sometimes it’s not that easy and we all handle these situations differently.”

Moreover, he compared Westbrook to Allen Iverson, who also had issues not being the star of his teams and could have had a more extensive career if he had accepted a different role on his teams. 

“Another guy, Allen Iverson, went through those situations for different teams where he did not want to come off the bench, and he could not handle coming off the bench. And that’s why a lot of us felt like, ‘Man, Allen Iverson should have still been in the league for a long time,’ but he did not want to be in that role. And I think Russ is in that right now. And, you know, it’s either you buy in or you don’t,” Carter added.

These two guys have been compared nonstop in recent years. Even though Russ has denied similarities between him and the Answer, it's hard not to see that their paths look very similar to one another. Even one NBA fan pointed out that Russ could end his career just like AI, returning to his first team but looking like the shadow of his best version.