Russell Westbrook

Lawrence Frank, the team's basketball boss, is a shrewd guy. A man who added valuable role players at the trade deadline in Eric Gordon, Mason Plumlee and Bones ...

Most of it is the opposite of him. "My instinct is to, let's kind of let's see what this looks like and see how this fits," he said. Led by the frequently unavailable and often distant figure that is Leonard, they have a group of championship-type players who have never truly meshed into a potential championship-caliber team. So, I think with it regardless of 'point guard' or not they got to be able to shoot." "I said, 'What about the Clippers,'" recalled Sheppard. Lawrence Frank, the team's basketball boss, is a shrewd guy. Steve Ballmer, the Clippers' owner, is a smart dude. For Westbrook's final act as a Laker, in a perfect bit of sour symbolism, he threw the pass that LeBron James transformed into his record-breaking shot … He was available despite being given every chance to succeed for a hometown team that bent over backward to placate him. The Clippers might have somehow slept through all this, but here's one thing they surely did not miss. The Clippers apparently had no idea. The Clippers apparently didn't.

The Clippers did make other moves during the trade deadline that changed their backcourt. They traded for Bones Hyland and Eric Gordon while trading away Reggie ...

Westbrook has had post-OKC success with the Houston Rockets, where for a few months he played at an elite level before the pandemic and injuries destroyed any chance he had to finish the season strong. That didn't leave a lot of opportunities for a player like Westbrook to have the ball in his hands. George had arguably his best season playing alongside Westbrook in their final season for the Thunder, so much so that he was in the running for MVP most of that season. Outside of those two players, no one will demand touches in the offense, which should lead to more opportunities for Westbrook to have the ball in his hands. With the Washington Wizards he was one of the main reasons the team made the playoffs in his first season. Lue has been known as a player’s coach, and maybe that is what Westbrook needs at this career stage. Ty Lue, on the other hand, has seen a lot in his coaching career. First, Westbrook is a California native and the public endorsed by Paul George, who has been reportedly recruiting his former teammate and had this to say during All-Star Weekend. Westbrook did finish some games with the Lakers, but it changed from game to game. Plenty of stories have been written about why it ultimately didn't work with the Lakers, and we can spend another month talking about that. That means we are inching closer to the playoffs, and teams are looking for ways to improve their rosters in the buyout market. However, we received reports recently that Westbrook had discussions with several teams, including the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, and the Los Angles Clippers.

As confirmed by CBS Sports' Bill Reiter, Westbrook will sign with the Clippers, who become the latest franchise to fall victim to the theoretical idea of what ...

The Lakers were that team. The Wizards were that team. The Rockets were that team. Now the Clippers are that team. The Clippers are this guy is absolutely one of the best dudes, one of the best people in the league," George said of Westbrook. With that said, let's look at what Russell Westbrook the basketball player, in 2023, can do for the Clippers. Where teams get in trouble is allowing the sentimentality of the first two to somehow cancel out the current reality of the last one. We keep trying to make this Westbrook conversation about fit, as if that was the only problem with the Lakers, or the [Wizards](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/WAS/washington-wizards/), or the Rockets. Everyone makes this out to be an attack on Westbrook the person, or an attack on his career as a whole. As confirmed by CBS Sports' Bill Reiter, Westbrook will sign with the [Clippers](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/LAC/los-angeles-clippers/), who become the latest franchise to fall victim to the theoretical idea of what this former MVP and future Hall of Famer can still bring to a team with championship aspirations. See, this is the problem.

After being waived by the Jazz following his trade from the Lakers, Russell Westbrook has decided to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

I think he will come in, he will mesh and he’ll figure out how we play and he’ll adjust to it.” “I really think he can improve the team. I’ve seen what he can do night in and night out,” George said. He rebounds, he finds guys, he makes the game easy for everyone. It also allows Westbrook to stay in Los Angeles. Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during basketball season.

Russell Westbrook is headed to the Clippers, where he'll team up with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

As he prepares to head across town, we're taking a look at the contractual details of the Los Angeles Clippers new point guard, Russell Westbrook.

At the moment the Clippers are 33-28 with the second half of the NBA season looming. For starters, it obviously brings to an end his turbulent time with the Lakers, while allowing him to stay in the city that he’s likely acclimatized to. Yet, in the end the ball handler chose to stay in LA with the Clippers and in truth we can understand why. To that end, it is understood that once details are finalized, we can expect to see Westbrook signing for the Clippers for a league minimum of $784,914. With his addition, the Clippers have potentially put together a rather interesting roster as they look to make a push toward the post season. Of that total sum, Westbrook had $13.2 million remaining for the 2022-23 season.

The Clippers are adding former MVP Russell Westbrook to their team, so the 213 Hoops crew is here to give thoughts and grades on the signing. Randi.

There doesn’t seem to be much upside, and the downside of Russ playing a ton and sabotaging the Clippers’ offense through cramped spacing and poor decision-making is awful to think about. Moreover, I just don’t think the Clippers need him at all – he can playmake, but he needs the ball in his hands, and that would take the ball away from Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and even Norm Powell. Really, I think his best attribute could be his intensity and energy, but if he takes minutes from Terance Mann and say Nic Batum, the intensity won’t make up the difference. So, we shouldn’t expect Russell Westbrook, who is also out of his prime and has a comparable skillset to the aforementioned three, to be what those guys couldn’t be. There is a path here to some success, the issue is whether Westbrook, Ty, and the stars will embrace it or continue chasing the ghost of another past prime point guard. The Clippers have room to add a player, they did not have to give anyone up for Russell Westbrook, and it will not cost very much money (not that money is a concern for Ballmer). My hope is that, much like John Wall, the role is minimized at that same 10-15 minutes with Kawhi on the bench, and his ability to drive is complemented by LAC’s better roster around him. The Clippers are currently getting more points out of the possessions they will be giving to Russell Westbrook than he will create for them, and his lack of shooting and inconsistent defensive focus will hurt them on non-Westbrook possessions. The Clippers added a less talented—and more in decline—player in John Wall and moved on from him pretty quickly without losing anything. Whether you look at his TS% (49.5%), Assist to Turnover ratio for a “true point guard”(7.5:3.5), PPP as the Ball Handler in PnR (0.75), sub 30% 3 point shooting, and really I could just keep going, there’s so many reasons to be against this trade. That mess was doomed from the jump and was as much on LeBron and the front office as it was on Westbrook. There seems to be some word on the street, if Twitter is to be believed, that the conversations included his acceptance of where he would fit in, which let’s hope means NOT in the starting lineup in Mann’s spot.

It's safe to say that Skip Bayless is not a fan of Russell Westbrook, and he ranted on Twitter after he signed with the Clippers.

He decided to go even further and call Westbrook out for being “delusional” about his current player-status. He also ranks fourth in the NBA in turnovers per game this season, with 3.56. “I picked the Clippers to win it all. He leads the NBA in turnovers per 36 mins – but so many are so bad they’re demoralizing,” Bayless said. “Fans say ‘noooo’ when he thinks about shooting a 3. “…The Clippers fell into the same trap LeBron did.

Russell Westbrook is staying in Los Angeles but switching teams, going from the Lakers to the Clippers by way of Utah. So what does that mean for the other players on the Clippers? Who will be most impacted, and which players will see their role change ...

[Nicolas Batum](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3416/nicolas-batum), [Marcus Morris Sr](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6462/marcus-morris-sr). [Terance Mann](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3907823/terance-mann), [Eric Gordon](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3431/eric-gordon) and/or [Bones Hyland](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4592492/bones-hyland). But at the first sign of trouble, I'd be ready to move on if Westbrook ends up being heavily involved in the offense for the Clippers (and he will be). Powell has been coming off the bench, and while it remains to be seen whether Westbrook will come off the bench or start, he's just as much a shooting guard as he is a point guard. In light of how productive Leonard and George were with Wall on the floor, the trio of Leonard, George and Westbrook could be a force to be reckoned with. [Reggie Jackson](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6443/reggie-jackson) and [John Wall](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4237/john-wall) -- have moved on? Some of this success is due to unsustainably hot shooting, but the bigger correction is that he's going to have the ball in his hands less often in second units alongside Westbrook. Leonard and [Paul George](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4251/paul-george) shouldn't really be affected at all. My assumption is that Westbrook is going to get somewhere near the 29 MPG he averaged in his sixth man role with the Lakers, and those minutes and on-ball opportunities have to come from somewhere. Mann might be a wait-and-see, because perhaps he and Westbrook can play together in the second unit with Mann doing more finishing, but he also seemingly takes a big hit with Westbrook in town. My gut tells me [Kawhi Leonard](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6450/kawhi-leonard). Who will be most impacted, and which players will see their role change the most?

Russell Westbrook is headed to the Los Angeles Clippers following a buyout agreement with the Utah Jazz. Patrick Beverley says he...

Now, the Clippers will be adding former MVP and nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook. For a moment there, it certainly felt as if Beverley was reminiscing on his own time with the franchise, where he had four of his most successful NBA seasons. Former Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers guard [Patrick Beverley](/nba/players/a6fa08bc/patrick-beverley) was also a free agent available on the buyout market, but he ended up signing with the Chicago Bulls.

Once waivers are cleared, the former Kia MVP could make his debut Friday. Joe Reedy | Associated Press. February 21, 2023 4:11 ...

The move keeps Westbrook in Los Angeles. The nine-time All-Star was waived by the Utah Jazz on Monday. 10 as part of a three-team deal.

Clipper stars apparently wanted Russell Westbrook; so did the Lakers' stars, and that didn't turn out too good.

The 18-15 would be a detriment, but the 8-10 would be a plus. However, in today’s portal world it’s going to be challenging to build that culture in a more widespread way with players moving in and out of the program. The key is watch what he does, not what he says. And yes, a Thunder is on the list: So Kessler — part of the trade that sent Gobert to Minnesota last off-season — is ahead of the game. Westbrook as a rookie was more stat-packing in rebounds and assists; Ivey is a much more accomplished rookie shooter than was Westbrook. The Cowboys are listed as an 11-seed in the 68-team bracket but not among the four at-large selections required to participate in a play-in game. I thought maybe Chicago would be a landing spot, because the Bulls are a mess, and maybe Westbrook could dynamite the Bulls to improvement. Generally speaking, teams in the top 40 feel safe, teams in the 40s (and higher) should be a little queasy. Then he went to the Lakers for a trio of good players (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kouzma) the Lakers would like to have back. The Jazz wanted a first-round draft pick, Minnesota wanted rid of D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers wanted Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Russell rather than Westbrook. But that’s the question about the Clippers.

Nick Wright explains why he thinks the Clippers' addition of Russell Westbrook is more likely to hurt than help them.

[Houston Rockets](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/houston-rockets-team) step on and the [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers-team) step on," Wright said on Monday's ["The Herd." ](https://www.foxsports.com/shows/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd) "… [ National Basketball Association](/stories/nba/nba-mvp-odds-after-all-star-weekend-nikola-jokic-favorite-to-win) [ National Basketball Association](/stories/nba/bulls-rule-lonzo-ball-out-for-season-due-to-knee-trouble) "This is the latest it would appear as Paul George was the loudest and strongest advocate for this move. [ National Basketball Association](/stories/nba/nba-buyout-tracker-where-will-john-wall-russell-westbrook-land) [ National Basketball Association](/stories/nba/hawks-fire-head-coach-nate-mcmillan-after-three-seasons) "That can be true and this can also be true: In 2023, if you're trying to win games, he cannot help you. "The Clippers have made many mistakes in letting Kawhi and Paul George run everything," Wright said. [According to two sources close to the situation](https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-utah-jazz-nba-sports-transactions-b049843283253aa95416bd902c5e9235), Westbrook could make his Clipper debut on Friday once he clears waivers with Utah, The Associated Press reports. But Westbrook shot just 41.7% from the field and 29.6% from 3-point range, leading him to be benched during crunch time as the Lakers held a 25-30 record before trading him on Feb. He thinks it's not the kind of move that any potential contender should make after how Westbrook has played over the last four seasons.