While the Los Angeles Clippers made an aggressive push for Russell Westbrook in free agency with the belief he could be the missing piece to their championship puzzle, one NBA executive believes the move actually makes the team worse.
The Clippers entered the 2022-23 season with out of the most expensive rosters in the sport and dreams of reaching the NBA Finals.
However, the results thus far this season have left a lot to be desired. Heading into their game Thursday against the Warriors, the Clippers are just 33-31 and the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
Of course, injuries and Kawhi Leonard’s slow recovery from surgery have hurt the team’s progress this season. However, when healthy the Clippers have not taken the conference by storm. That is why they made several moves at the trade deadline.
However, their most notable acquisition this season was signing Russell Westbrook after he was bought out of the final months of his contract by the Jazz. The team that acquired him in a blockbuster trade with the Lakers.
While several teams were interested in the 34-year-old, Los Angeles Clippers stars like Paul George made a strong effort to bring his former Thunder teammate back to L.A. for the rest of the season.
The move was viewed by many as a positive since the Clippers had a need at point guard. But not everyone inside the league believes the acquisition is a positive for Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, The Athletic’s NBA writer John Hollinger wrote about Westbrook to the Clippers, and in the piece, he had a very interesting nugget from an anonymous NBA executive.
“Actually, I fear them much less now,” the executive told Hollinger.
The columnist added to that thought process by giving his own views on why the move might not be the right one for the Clippers.
“Russell Westbrook’s high-usage, low-efficiency, non-floor-spacing style seems almost perfectly suited to minimize Kawhi Leonard’s and Paul George’s effectiveness. … Also, um, didn’t they already try this two years ago with Rajon Rondo? How’d that work out?”
Since his arrival, the Clippers are 0-3 and have fallen to possible playoff foes the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and Sacramento Kings.
Westbrook’s previous team, the Lakers were outside the playoff picture for the season and a half he played with that franchise as well.
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