Mvp is crazy talk for Westbrook, with Luka, giannis, taytum, ja, jokic, etc etc but I do think he will have a bounce back year. He is crafty he will figure it out. Last year was pretty much the worst of it. He is ultra competitive let's see what kind of summer he had training. I'd like to see him bounce back. NBA is always better when teams like the Lakers are competitive.
Not just with his competitors in the league but on the team itself, there are a lot of main gunners there that he might even become a competitor on the award. And to become an MVP, he should be the main guy on the team doing plays and whatever.
Aside from that and the most important thing to become an MVP frontrunner of the season,
"consistency" in every game on which Russ is having a hard time last season. Once you fell short on stats in just one game, that can bring down the average already as every game stats counts.
But in fairness, I like him being that optimistic after that failed run last season. I hope his plan of targeting the MVP next season will bring a boost to the Lakers.