He gives opponents a place to target on offense, and a soft spot to ignore off-ball on defense. Having Westbrook in the rotation is almost certainly a problem for the Clippers as a playoff team. How Westbrook’s addition could lead to the breaking up of the Clippers’ duo How long until Ty Lue needs to move him to the bench? Will that fly with Westbrook, or will it immediately cause more chemistry issues for a team that already lacks a strong culture? The Clippers don’t have good leadership on their roster, and introducing another headache - or a leadership hijacker - is not the path to solving those issues. Unless, of course, the Clippers have some secret new way to get Westbrook to change his ways. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are much more dangerous on-ball than Westbrook, and if they are handling then their new point guard will be actively hurting the team. The Clippers can’t afford for Westbrook to have the ball in his hands, at least not when their stars are healthy. He has only finished 23 plays as a cutter all season despite playing alongside LeBron James. Westbrook’s passing and athleticism should make him a good complementary player, but he refuses to cultivate the off-ball parts of his game – he has just a handful of plays as the screener all season, and rather than cut he likes to prowl around the arc waiting to get the ball back. It was the Lakers’ worst move of the last decade. Two years ago the Lakers traded valuable role players and a first-round pick for Westbrook, a move that essentially closed their window of contention because of how poorly Westbrook fit with their team. His inability to recognize how much his shooting hurts a team results in a myriad of poor shots from the guard. His stints with the Rockets, Washington Wizards and Lakers have been short and ended poorly. When George requested a trade to the Clippers to team up with Kawhi Leonard, the Thunder moved Westbrook to the Houston Rockets the same summer. The Clippers’ All-Star wing has been vocal about wanting to reunite with Westbrook, with whom he spent two seasons in Oklahoma City in 2017-19.
Rumors that may have been started, fanned and spread by none other than Paul George. Since it became clear that Westbrook might hit the open market, rumors have swirled that the Clippers might be a potential destination.
The LA Clippers signed Russell Westbrook after he hit the buyout market
PAUL GEORGE NEWS UPGRADE
Westbrook landed in Utah as part of a three-team trade the night before the Trade Deadline, with the Lakers dumping him on the Jazz with a future first in order to upgrade their rotation with three different players. The nine-time All-Star and 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player was on the market after agreeing to a buyout with the Utah Jazz. Just as everyone was settling into a day of complaining about the NBA All-Star Game, the news came across the Woj-waves: Russell Westbrook was signing with the LA Clippers.
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