The Clippers have begun talks with Russell Westbrook after being granted permission by the Jazz, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
L.A. has been prominently mentioned as a possible destination for Westbrook if he agrees to a buyout with Utah. He’s established in the city after playing the past year and a half with the Lakers, and the Clippers are in need of point guard help after failing to upgrade that position at the trade deadline.
Paul George and Marcus Morris both publicly endorsed the idea of adding Westbrook to the team last week.
Westbrook appears to have several options if he accepts a buyout, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski mentioning the Wizards as being interested during Wednesday night’s NBA Countdown. Westbrook helped Washington secure a playoff berth in his lone season with the team before being traded to the Lakers.
The Bulls, with Westbrook’s former Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan, and the Heat, who also need backcourt help, are believed to be other leading contenders to sign the 34-year-old guard.
Westbrook was sent to the Jazz as part of a three-way trade at last week’s deadline following a tumultuous stay with the Lakers. He adapted to a bench role this season, but still struggled with his shot, connecting at 41.7% from the field and 29.6% from three-point range.
Real clippers fans don’t want this ! Dumbo Russ fans are saying if clippers add Russ it’s a guaranteed chip! Those Russ fans are imbeciles if clippers add Russ the only thing it guarantees is they lose in rd 1 if not the play in tournament!
Speak for yourself. I’ve been a Clipper fan for about 35 years and would love to see what he can do away from the toxicity that is the Lakers
You sound bitter. Is it because of all of the banners hanging in your ‘home’ arena?
Fact is letting Russ be Russ is waste of time! Post Kevin Durant he’s only been past rd 1 once in the bubble with the rockets where he missed the first five games ! Again fact giving Russ the ball surround him with spot up shooters and letting him play the way he Wants is a total waste of time
Westbrooks decline as a basketball player has nothing to do with his time with the Lakers and everything to do with him making bad decisions, not being able to shoot the ball and his turnovers at the worst time. As a Laker fan I would live for the Clippers to sign Westbrook. Oh yeah did I forget to mention him blaming Vogel and the Ham for his horrible play?
You haven’t been a clippers fan for 35 years
Let him keep his mansion
N dry cleaners!!
And auto dealerships
Quiet as kept Russ is 1 of the main reasons LAC has never won the West. This is him dominating CPaul (as well as his former teammate DCollison) to avoid going down 0-2 at home vs the strongest team the LA Clippers franchise has ever had. Russ outplaying CP in this (unbelievably great) series is something that should be talked about more. Can’t wait to see those 2 match-up again in a potential Clippers/Suns series this yr… link to m.youtube.com
1 of the most epic games in nba history. 2 legends goin at it… tbh if Russ & OKC lose this game/series then maybe yall wouldnt hate him so much… link to m.youtube.com
Where does he play on that Clippers roster? I dont understand how he is a fit, but they dumped John Wall. They’re better off with guys depending on matchups/lineups. Mann, Gordon, Powell, Hyland is more than fine around their versatile defenders/playmakers/shooting. Westbrook being a guy that needs the ball in his hands makes no sense on that roster, in my opinion, besides being friends with people there
Washington makes exponentially more sense
I agree his ball dominant play is very similar to Walls play, but Russ is a better player than Wall. He’s also a better player than anyone not named PG/Kawhi going forward. He may not be MVP Russ but he’s still a good player.
If he’s willing to continue his 6th man run it may not be a terrible pick up for him to run 2nd unit giving the stars more rest time.
It boggles my mind how yall can follow basketball yet be so bad at understanding what you see & then feel justified in being so critical of guys who are so obviously great at basketball. Like it angers yall to see guys being great at basketball. This guy is asking where Russ Westbrook would play for the Clippers. Smh he’d play pg. Obviously. Other guy says best case scenario Russ won’t be terrible lol. Do yall like feeling bad? If not then why not just follow the Euroleague or women’s basketball or just another sport? This goes for the writers on this site too. You’re gonna hate the young guys coming into the league same way u hate Russ. Just watch golf instead fr
I don’t hate Russ the person. And Indont waste my time “hating” any pro athlete. But trust me as someone who has watched every minute of Russ the past two years that he is not a player that a team is going to win with.
Just started watching him last yr did ya lol
I don’t get out of market games. But i do watch every minute of every Laker game. Stupid comment on your part
Wait lol are u saying u did just start watching him last year? And how do out of market games factor in? Are you familiar with guys like Steph Curry & Nikola Jokic that play outside the LA market?
Russ has never been terrible. OKC,Hou,Wiz or Lakers he’s doing the usual superstar player decline but still a hooper. Fit and talent are very different. He didn’t fit with the Lakers, but he still put up very strong numbers. And showed his talent in a difficult situation.
If a guy putting up 16-6-7 off the bench was available in the buyout market, you’d be a fool to pass him up.
His only negative was his contract (that he earned) but that’ll be gone if he’s bought out. Fit is another story, but with outside shooters like Gordon and PG13 he will fit better than @ Lakers.
If a team wants to go far in the playoffs they should not sign Westbrook.
Like when he took OKC to the conference finals 3x and finals 1x to lose to the eventual winners every time?
What reason do you have to say Russ will stop them going deep?
How many years ago was that? My comment comes from watching every minute of every one of his games the past 2 years
And my comment comes from watching a HOF career. Rook to now. You’re talking 2 years in 14. And he’s is bad?
It’s like saying you didn’t like a movie when you watched 2 mins and was told about the rest. He was a bad fit in L.A. nothing more nothing less. But that wasn’t his fault. Refusing to be a bencher LY and throwing up bricks, yea that was, but that was frustration not lack of obvious talent. But the lakers being poor wasn’t on him. And still isn’t. Wherever he goes, he’ll elevate the team, simple.
more of this please. It’s a shame when obvious stuff like this is so rare on a site like this devoted to pro basketball. And Russ is def putting up big #s (its a trip how the writers only show his shooting %) but it’s much more just about his skill-set than the #s
Actually it’s more about his #’s then his skill set
I dont have anything agao st Westbrook and never implied or inferred that in any way, but once again, you take 1 thi g from someone’s comment and decide some whole justification of their entire knowledge of the sport, even if what you think is being said isnt at all that…
I said as a fit on that team, I dont see how it makes sense. I also thought he was in a $#!+ situation with the Lakers that wasnt nearly his fault, and want him in a situation where he can be as successful as possible. Others are talking trash about him, but I have been 1 of the biggest defenders of Russell Westhrook on this website since Houston first tried to make him a scapegoat the way they have with several others, so miss me with your constant condescending drivel
How long have you been watching Russ play? He obv fits in as their pg. He’s 1 of the greatest pgs in the history of the sport & they currently have 0 pgs on their team. If you been watching Russ half as long as me & you still don’t know where he fits in on a tram like LAC, Mia, Chi, DC, etc then you aren’t very good at understanding the game. You don’t seem nearly as mean spirited as others & I gotta say my message wasn’t really for u specifically as much as just the whole vibe of this site as a whole. I apologize for going at u like I did bro but I mean it’s Russ Westbrook. Please don’t let these haters fool you into thinking this guy isn’t still extremely good at basketball
He is not very good at basketball. But what is hilarious is how those who think he is take it personally when others think he is not.
MVPs must be found in happy meals. Its crazy when you’re talking about one of the best PGs the game has seen.
Westbrook is not what he used to be. He used to be a great player, with great numbers that didn’t impact winning. Like, if he was low on rebounds, he’d grab several that a teammate clearly was about to grab. Or, he’d pass up a layup to give a teammate the same layup, just to get his assists up when necessary.
He still has some skills left, but it seems his basketball IQ has gotten worse – or maybe it was never any good in the first place but his skill and motor made up for it.
Today, he’s a different player POSSESSION TO POSSESSION, let alone game to game or season to season.
What team wants to gamble on that?
Somebody will test him and offer him a 10-day, just to see if he’s hungry enough to take it, or to see if he feels that “below him”.
He and Pat Bev literally have nothing to contribute towards winning basketball.
A few points:
1. Players age in all pro sports. The NBA is the most physical of the pro sports. Older players can lose their edge. They must make adjustments and work with their teammates more. The NBA is not computer or rotisserie basketball.
2. A point guards job used to be involving his teammates in the game. Now I see PG’s are judged by their PPG average. That’s fine. But both participants and fans must decide if individual stats are more important then the players teams W-L record.
3. Lebron James is extremely hard to play with. He and ownership expect teammates to adjust their games to the way he plays.
Morning @jump shot, I love your comment as it’s coming from someone who clearly see Russ as a player overall. And not just the “every laker game the past 2 years.”
I don’t agree with all of it but it’s coming from an angle I respect. I wouldn’t have said his IQ has dipped, it’s more having to drop control to LeBrons ball usage and him getting impatient when he gets his time. but I do agree he has a habit of stat padding, but he’s also show the willingness to put his head down and hoop for the team, he did in Hou(playing through clear bad injury in a very poor showing vs layers in bubble POffs) and in OKC letting others get their numbers for the good of the team, it was only during the lakers he showed this side on The court, which wish falls on L.A. But even on his worst day, he’ll still be the best player on the buyout market, not Love, not Wall etc.
and I still think his play would really benefit PG13 and others, after all he was part of the reason he was so good in OKC(however I do prefer George as a player to Kawhi, as controversial as that may be).
@JW91
If I’m a GM in great standing with my team, I don’t know if I trust bringing Westbrook onto my team and in my lockerroom, as I feel I could be setting up a situation for potential disaster.
If I’m a GM in mediocre to poor standing with my team… I don’t know if I trust bringing in Westbrook onto my team and in my lockerroom, as I feel I could be setting up a situation for potential disaster.
I think the cons outweigh the pros with him.
Maybe he proves me wrong in his next trip.
One things for sure, without him, Melo, and some of the other guys available, the league will still go on and won’t skip a beat.
I didnt say that; I said he would be a better fit on Washington
Why not? Give him a shot. Anyone who has problems with this is just cranky.
People become fixated on buyout guys because they’re typically big names, but at this point it’s about what they bring now, not what they broughten years ago.
Trust lil D on this one, folks. And take a chill pill if ur a h8r
Put Russel Westbrook on the Rockets and they automatically becoming playoffs contenders. Russ needs the ball in his hands at all times like Lebron in order to be his best. Lebron controled the team so Russ couldn’t bring out his full potential which resulted in him taking rushed shots because of lack of opportunites. Play Russ 35-40 minutes a night and give him full control of the ball handling duties and the Rockets would have about 12 more wins right now at the very minimum. Former MVP and 8 time all star gets disrespected on the daily
Former MVP and 8 time all star is not a valuable player at this stage if his career
Agree with everything you said… except that part about Russ making Hou a playoff/play-in squad. He would def improve them as a team. His voice & bulldog mentality, rebounding ability, availability, ability to get to the line consistently are all upgrades on what they have now in KPJ. But he’s arguably their best player. Houston would need some frontcourt help to even sniff the postseason…. They’re hoping to get some in the draft
Clearly most here has not had the “pleasure” of watching Westbrook play the last two years. He is standoffish, blames his coaches for his demise as a basketball player and makes the absolutely worst decisions at the worst times on the court. Not to mention he just flat out can’t shoot. I’ve watched everyone almost every minute of his games the last two years and can safely say that any team that has championship aspirations should stay away from this guy.
When nobody on your team can shoot, and you have multiple guys that need the ball in their hands and dont for together, how is it that person’s fault, when he never fit on the team in the first place? Is it his fault they had 0 wings? Is it his fault that their best shooters were Lebron and Austin Reaves? Put him on a roster where he fits, and see him do what he did with Washington, which is he single handedly carried them into the playoffs the last 3 months of that season
Put him on a roster with shooters and he will still play out of control, he will still be a turnover machine and will still take terrible shots. Everything Westbrook revolves around excuses
You basically just answered your own question on how he fits in LAC. They have plenty of wings, plenty of shooters, plenty of dogs
But they also have plenty of guys that need the ball in their hands/are really good with the ball in their hands, and I dont see many lineups where the spacing works out with those guys together, whereas they have a bunch of guys already that can play in that spot that do fit
I’m not sure what u mean by guys that need the ball in their hands. Kawhi, PG & Russ have all thrived playing with other great players/scorers. Russ is top10 all time in assists. He knows how to get his guys involved. Beal, KD & others have all had their best scoring seasons playing with Russ. He puts more pressure on opposing defenses than most other pgs. Spacing should be good esp as they gain chemistry
He shows up every night and plays at 110 percent. Paid for past performance like many aging vets, Westbrook can still takeover a game and although I believe he’s a better fit in Miami The clippers need him.
Russ should just play in china. He can have a 20-20-20 triple double every game. He can be the new stephon marbury over there
I mean, he has made around 340 million dollars playing ball in the NBA. I would imagine he will keep doing that.