From the moment that the Los Angeles Lakers traded Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz, Paul George made it clear that he wanted his former teammate on the Los Angeles Clippers. George was quite public with that desire of his, and the team finally fulfilled his wish on Monday.
The reactions to the move have been quite mixed, with some believing Russ can be the one to take the Clippers across the finish line, while others are certain the team will crash and burn with him. While George had quite a joyful reaction after the news broke, JJ Redick is being a bit more cautious.
Redick spoke on the move on his Old Man and The Three podcast, where he stated that Westbrook can potentially help them, but that at the end of the day, the situation hasn’t changed completely from the one he was in with the Los Angeles Lakers.
(starts at 2:07 mark):
“Look I think there’s a way that he makes an impact. I don’t know that it’s him playing 30 or 35 minutes a night with Kawhi (Leonard) and PG, at this point in his career. Do I think he’s going to make an impact? Yeah. I was actually having a conversation with somebody on Saturday we were talking about him going to the Clippers.”
“I said I could see him, especially come playoffs, winning a playoff game. Where he just comes in, he’s a madman, he’s running around, he’s grabbing loose balls, getting rebounds, taking into transition, attacking the rim, 22 points 8 rebounds, 6 assists, in 24 minutes. They win a game, turns the series around. To me, that’s what it is.”
“I’m not going to sit here and analyze, it’s the same s**t. He’s a guy when we’ve seen him succeed later in his career, it’s when he’s got the ball in his hands, and he’s surrounded by shooting. And that’s not going to be the case here.”
He does have a lot of shooting around him now, so that is definitely something that works in his favor. The question is how ball-dominant do they allow him to be when he’s on the court, as Russ is almost a total non-factor on offense without the ball in his hands.
The Clippers’ Plan For Russell Westbrook
There has been a lot of intrigue surrounding this move, and a lot of eyes will be on the Clippers after this break to see how things are panning out. As for their thought process behind the move, it is reported that they want Westbrook to take the ball-handling load from George and Kawhi Leonard.
That would mean the two of them would have more gas left in the tank for later in the game, which would be quite helpful. The Lakers were thinking of something along these lines as well, though, and it didn’t work out for them. We’ll soon find out if it’s any different for the Clippers.
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