Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook plans to signal with the Los Angeles Clippers as soon as he finalizes a buyout with the Utah Jazz, his agent instructed Adrian Wojnarowski. Westbrook was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Jazz as a part of a three-team deal forward of the commerce deadline earlier this month.
In 52 video games for the Lakers this season, nearly all of them off the bench, Westbrook averaged 15.9 factors, 6.2 rebounds and seven.5 assists per recreation. But whereas his counting stats have been nonetheless stable, his protection, inefficient taking pictures (41.7 p.c from the sector, 29.6 p.c from 3-point land) and poor match subsequent to LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been as soon as once more an issue for the Lakers. There was additionally the truth that James was publicly lobbying for the staff to commerce him, which didn’t assist the vibes within the locker room.
But regardless of a few of Westbrook’s points with the Lakers, and his declining play lately, the Clippers are keen to take an opportunity on him. That’s seemingly a minimum of partly as a result of feedback from Paul George, who instructed the media earlier this month that the Clippers’ gamers wished to usher in Westbrook.
“I imply if there’s, , someone on the market — Russell,” George mentioned. “If it is sensible and clearly it goes with our staff, we’re all for it. You know, we want a degree guard. But , [at] the identical [time], I believe we’re good as effectively. If nothing occurred, we acquired sufficient on this locker room to have the ability to make it work.
“But it could positively enhance our staff if we had that conventional level guard to type of get us in issues and make the sport simple. So hopefully Russell sees this and we determine one thing out.”
While it is true that the Clippers haven’t got a standard level guard within the roster, it is not clear that they want one. They have been superior with Terance Mann within the beginning lineup because the nominal “level guard” alongside George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris Sr. and Ivica Zubac. That five-man group has a plus-14.8 web ranking in 142 minutes collectively, and the Clippers are 7-3 within the 10 video games that it has been used.
Inserting Westbrook into the beginning lineup simply to have a “true level guard” can be a giant mistake. At the identical time, if you are going to make him the sixth man and provides him management of the second unit, then why commerce for Eric Gordon and Bones Hyland lower than two weeks in the past. It appears the staff will check out each choices, as Westbrook is predicted to start out sooner or later, however maybe not immediately, in response to Law Murray.
The Clippers are 10-4 during the last month, and have climbed as much as fourth place within the Western Conference now that Leonard and George are each wholesome. Adding Westbrook to the combo proper once they’re rounding into type does not make a complete lot of sense.
