The Brodie Stays In Los Angeles
The Brodie Stays In Los Angeles
Russell Westbrook is moving across the hallway and swapping a yellow jersey for a blue one.
So, it looks like Russell Westbrook will be heading to -sorry, staying in- L.A. The difference is that he will be suiting up for the Clippers.
He and the Utah Jazz agreed to a contract buyout earlier this week after the L.A. Lakers ended their experiment and traded him to the saltiest of lakes on the trade deadline.
Westbrook -I think- never had intentions of playing with the Jazz, and the Jazz -I think- never had intentions of playing Westbrook.
Hence, the buyout.
And as a highly-sought free agent, many teams, such as the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, and Washington Wizards, courted him. But he’s choosing the Clippers over the other teams.
And why wouldn’t he?
The Clippers are fourth in the West, he gets to be reunited with Paul George, and he gets to stay in the City of Angels.
However, those are just positives for him. The real question is will his arrival be positive for the team?
I think that he can provide the team with things that they lack.
For instance, the Clippers have never had a high-level point guard since Chris Paul.
And I know Westbrook doesn’t play like CP3. But he’s still a really good guard who’s going to provide more than the guards that the team has had. He was the MVP in 2017, after all.
And I know he’s far from his MVP days. But the dude can still ball (example here).
In 52 games this season (3 starts), Westbrook averaged 15.9 points, 7.5 assists, 6.2 rebounds, and 1 steal.
He’s also super durable as he has only missed 3 games this season (not including the games he missed because of the trade).
However, there are flaws as Bleacher Report says Westbrook’s playstyle can cause problems for the team.
First, is that he needs the ball in his hands to play well.
But with superstars such as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the team, how often will Westbrook get the ball? And if he doesn’t touch it often, can he adjust his game?
Second, is that Westbrook plays really fast.
But his explosiveness in pace causes turnovers. Can he slow down and play smarter?
If we look back at history, it doesn’t look like he will change (or change much). But maybe Russ being Russ is exactly what will get the Clippers over the hump this season.
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