Lakers’ Russell Westbrook has parted ways with his longtime agent over ‘irreconcilable differences’

Russell Westbrook is splitting from longtime Wasserman agent Thad Foucher over what the agent describes as “irreconcilable differences,” he told Adrian Wojnarowski. While the player and agent split is nothing new, Foucher released a lengthy statement about his now-defunct partnership with Westbrook that doesn’t exactly cast the former MVP in the best light.

“I have represented Russell Westbrook for 14 years and am proud of our partnership which included a highly successful 2008 draft, a Super Max contract and the only renegotiation and renewal Max contract in history. I have also supported Russell throughout his rise to becoming a fashion industry personality and recently orchestrated three consecutive trades on Russell’s behalf – the highlight being the trade with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers.

“Each time teams gave up valuable players and assets to acquire Russell – and each time a new organization welcomed his arrival. We did it together with grace and class.

“Now, with the possibility of a fourth trade in four years, the market is telling the Lakers to add value with Russell in any trading scenario. And even then, such a trade may require Russell to exit the new team immediately via buyout.

“I believe this type of transaction is only intended to diminish Russell’s value and his best option is to stay with the Lakers, accepting the starting role and support that Darvin Ham has publicly offered. Russell is a first-ballot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and will prove it again before he retires.

“Unfortunately, irreconcilable differences exist as to his best path forward and we are no longer working together. I wish Russell and his family the very best.”

If Foucher is ending his relationship with Westbrook because they disagree on how best to advance his career, and he wants the former star point guard to stay with the Lakers, it stands to reason that Westbrook himself would prefer to leave Los Angeles would. However, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles TimesWestbrook never applied for a trade.

Of course, it’s also worth noting that he didn’t really need to. It’s no secret the Lakers would rather trade him, they were just picky about the details of a deal. Reports have indicated they don’t want to make a first-round pick just to drop Westbrook and so far only Kyrie Irving has reportedly been a pick for them. Irving, a superior marksman and former teammate of James, would appear to be a better fit at point guard without sacrificing the starting talent the Lakers hoped they would add at Westbrook.

At least publicly, the Lakers had given all indications that they still consider Westbrook such a star. As Foucher said, new head coach Darvin Ham has been publicly very supportive of Westbrook. “Don’t confuse it, Russell is one of the best players our league has seen and there’s a ton left in that tank,” Ham said at its introductory press conference. “I don’t know why people tend to write him off… Russ and I had some really, really great 1-on-1s, and the biggest word that came out of those discussions was sacrifice. We’ll sacrifice whatever we have to do, and it’s not just Russ. There will be sacrifices that LeBron will have to make, that AD will have to make, right through to the rest of our roster.

However, if you read between the lines, news from Lakers players hasn’t been all that positive. James and Westbrook infamously sat on opposite sides of the arena as they both competed in the Summer League last weekend. Following news of Westbrook and Foucher’s split, Rich Paul, who is representing James and several other Laker players, tweeted “It’s a cold game!” The idea that the Lakers could keep Westbrook has felt like leverage the whole time. This lever loses power.

Agents almost never speak publicly about their relationships with former clients. It’s usually a bad deal. Why would you send a message to potential future clients that you’re ready to air their dirty laundry like this? As of this writing, it’s hard to say who will benefit from this statement and how it will affect Westbrook’s future. It can’t exactly make it harder to trade because nobody wants it the way it is. Perhaps this could give the Lakers a new sense of urgency. If Westbrook is desperate to leave Los Angeles to part ways with an agent who thinks he should stay, maybe that sends a message to the Lakers that keeping him would be foolish.

This is all speculation at this point. The circumstances here are pretty unprecedented, but so is most of what happened to the Lakers last season. The goal remains the same for now. In a perfect world, the Lakers will be able to trade Westbrook and draft picks for Irving. But if that forces them to cast a wider net of possible deals? It couldn’t hurt them. If even Westbrook’s agent can’t work with him anymore, there’s little reason to think the Lakers want to.