With the Clippers struggling to find their footing in the wake of the James Harden trade, starting point guard Russell Westbrook has requested to move to a reserve role, league sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report.
According to Haynes, the plan is for Westbrook to come off the bench for the Clippers in Friday’s in-season tournament game vs. Houston, with Terance Mann getting the start in his place.
Westbrook, Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Ivica Zubac have started each of the five games the Clippers have played since Harden made his debut with the team. Los Angeles has lost all five of those games and has posted a -14.1 net rating in 58 minutes with that five-man group on the court.
It’s a very small sample, but by comparison, that group had a +38.0 net rating in 51 minutes with Robert Covington in Harden’s place prior to the trade.
Head coach Tyronn Lue has experimented with taking certain players – including Harden – off the court relatively early in the game and then bringing them back with the second unit, and some of the Clippers stars have expressed confidence that a breakthrough is close. However, having Westbrook move to the bench will allow the team to start the game with one fewer ball-dominant player on the court, which could help simplify the offensive game plan.
As Haynes writes, Westbrook brought the idea to the coaching staff, suggesting that it would put the first unit in a better position to develop some chemistry and would allow him to bring his energy to the second unit. The former MVP is the Clippers’ “vocal leader” and told the coaching staff he wants to do whatever it takes to win, sources tell Haynes.
Westbrook has started every game he has played for the Clippers since signing with the team last season, but came off the bench in 49 of the 52 games he played for the Lakers in 2022/23. As Haynes points out, that move was instigated by the Lakers’ coaching staff, whereas this time the idea is coming from Westbrook, who has received praise throughout the organization for the “selfless” move, sources tell Bleacher Report.
Honestly, harden should have said this from the jump. Start with the second unit until you get comfortable with the offense. Lead the second group and be “James harden”. Once you get your footing in a month or so, start working with different rotations. But, he is who he is. Very big of Russ and good to see him take that team first approach
Yep I thought this was the best idea coming in. Leave it to Russell Westbrook to make the suggestion for himself though.
This is why I think more highly of Russ than Harden. I also think this isn’t going to help as much as people might expect. Harden isn’t that guy. Not anymore. Just too limited due to injury.
Agreed. It almost feels like harden is straddling identities. He wants to be the old James but doesn’t seem to have the killer instinct or explosiveness anymore. He thrived as the lead facilitator with the Sixers, and could do the same for the clippers but he feels like that’s not “him”. However, he is still very passive with the clips starters. Pick a lane, and be the best version of that player
I don’t even think the playmaking will work as well; it largely worked out in Philly because Embiid is such a dominant pick-and-roll player. Zubac isn’t that. PG and Kawhi play the game differently; more middy, iso, cut-and-shoot.
Russ plays hard and causes next to no drama.
Pretty much everyone paying attention thinks more highly of him than Harden.
If you asked that question a year ago, you’d have gotten a different answer.
There is a long list of players that I think more highly of than Harden so it’s a low bar.
Amazing leadership amazing teammate don’t know how anyone can hate Russ.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that like many of us, Russell Westbrook is maturing as he gets older. I may be wrong but I’m not sure he was this accommodating earlier in his career.
You gotta love Russ, he’s gotten such a bad rap but that seems to have just come from being a bad fit or not accepted with the Lakers. I think this makes the most sense because Kawhi and PG need someone like Harden. Neither of them make a good ball handler and tend to commit too many turnovers. Westbrook can bring a new pace to the second unit and those guys should be ready to run with him.
Russ gets a bad rap because he’s a ball hog and a low efficiency chucker. He’s been better on the Clippers, though, and this is a nice gesture by him.
That said, if he really wants to help the team, one simple thing is to work on his free throws. 58% is insane from a guy who used to hit over 80% regularly. Been steadily declining for years. Not sure I’ve ever seen that before. Going from one of the best free throw shooters to one of the worst.
Westbrook better than Harden honestly. Great leadership,amazing teammates and good vocal leader.
Russell Westbrook is one of the worst players in the NBA and should be cut!
Ok genius.
Westbrook clearly understands what many of us knew as soon as harden was dealt.
There is still only one ball to feed that many mouths.
They shouldn’t need anyone to volunteer. Lue needs to grow a pair and tell Harden he’s coming off the bench.
Will probably never happen. Lue is there to massage egos. He’s not there to be a tough guy.
As a Sixers fans, I’m thankful that Harden is no longer our problem. I’m glad we were able to extract what we got in the trade.
Now harden will be exposed as the turnover machine that can’t finish at the rim. Pouting as his sulking body language destroys team chemistry and moral His step back scares nobody as he plays for next years vet minimum.
Big Time kudos to Russell Westbrook for this idea. He’s still one of the most amazing athletes on the face of the planet and to suggest not starting is a very big deal for an NBA player. Not many guys are comfortable coming off the bench if they believe they are stars. This is a huge compromise on his part and I applaud him for it.
True, but he has no other choice. Something had to be done after losing 5 consecutive days. He came off the bench last yr as a Laker and he knew he is the one they all wanted him to go to bench. Westbrook is now minimum salary playerand thus lower in the pecking order, and they still were not playing well when he was the starter and no Harden. This was the plan all along, but nobody had the guys to say it.
“He has no other choice”
Oh. Thanks for explaining that.
Meanwhile, Harden volunteered to be traded, and kawhi and PG13 volunteered to sit out 2 of every 5 games.
It’s actually a positive move, but only if it has some staying power. Otherwise it’s just the lastest move in Lue’s endless lineup tinkering. Harden was the wrong target, but what’s done is done. It’s open whether this team can be coached, but they certain need some real coaching badly. Maybe Lue should try his hand at it.
Westbrook has come a long way, matured, accepted lesser role, and even playing for minimum salary. Everything was going great, but once he started to play well again, he wanted yo be the old Westbrook and dominate the ball and wants to be hero evry night. He should not be shooting at crunch time.
If you think Westbrook should be playing off the ball I invite you to go watch his Lakers tape
Strippers and Steak Dinners need to be on Hardens tab for the rest of the season.
See you in the second round.
For all those that have beaten up on Russ over the years, you can question his game, but you can’t question his character. Classy dude.
I am rooting for this team to win a championship.
Russ just can’t stomach being on the floor for extended minutes with Harden. And it’s probable that sentiment is not unique to Westbrook.
This man got told he was coming off the bench and they are portraying it as he chose to…
Disaster on wheels. That said if they keep this group of guys together they could be late season spoilers. If they go through next year’s training camp together and healthy, watch out. Last year Doncic and Irving were a disaster. They seem better now.