Russell Westbrook finally got the move he had been wanting over the last few years. Westbrook joined the Los Angeles Lakers from the Washington Wizards as part of a trade that saw the Lakers give up Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell to get him.
Westbrook is a LA native and even played at UCLA before he entered the NBA. So the opportunity to play in his hometown is one that he welcomes. But on top of that, Westbrook is finally on a championship contender for the first time since 2016.
Westbrook has bounced around the league over the last few years. Between 2018 till now, Westbrook has been in 4 teams, looking for the chance to compete for a championship. But with the Lakers, he has the best chance of his career since his time in Oklahoma City with Kevin Durant.
One of the biggest criticisms surrounding Westbrook is his poor performances in the playoffs. Since 2016, Westbrook has not made it past the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs, and many fans believe it is because of Westbrook’s ‘self-centered’ style of play.
But what doesn’t get talked about enough is the work Westbrook does to turn these teams into playoff contenders. The Oklahoma City Thunder made the playoffs once since his departure, and the Houston Rockets became one of the worst teams in the league after he and James Harden left.
He had a fairly successful stint with the Wizards last season. While he missed out on becoming an All-Star, Westbrook did lead the league in assists and helped the Wizards secure a play-in spot, and then a playoff spot with the 8th seed.
The Wizards were able to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2018 thanks to Westbrook and his partnership with Bradley Beal. The Wizards were looking to keep him this offseason, and Westbrook was ready to stay if the Lakers move didn’t work out. But he didn’t feel the same way about the other team in LA.
In a recent interview, Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard discussed Russell Westbrook and his recent trade to the Lakers. Sheppard noted that Westbrook didn’t ask to be traded, but did express his desire to join the Lakers. When Sheppard asked him about the LA Clippers, Westbrook gave him a resounding ‘hell no!’ as a response.
“I really have to make sure the record is straight on that. Russell actually never asked to move on. He just said, ‘If I can get to the Lakers, that’d be something I would love to do. If not, I’ll be back here.’ I said, ‘What about the Clippers?’ He said, ‘Hell no.’ So Russell was happy being here and we were very grateful for him being here.”
Westbrook may still have hard feelings towards the Clippers because of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Westbrook had reached out to Kawhi with the idea of teaming up with him, but George (who was once Westbrook’s teammate in OKC) and Leonard schemed to team up in LA behind Westbrook’s back.
Perhaps Westbrook joining the Lakers will give him extra motivation for when he faces the Clippers next season. The Lakers and the Clippers are eternal rivals, and Westbrook will do his best to beat the Clippers, and get some measure of revenge on his former teammate Paul George.
