It’s not every day that your team signs a 9x All-Star and league MVP for the veteran’s minimum. For the Los Angeles Clippers, that appears to be the scenario for them as they add Russell Westbrook to the fold.
After an ugly divorce with the Lakers, Paul George convinced his team to give Russ a shot and now he’s expected to play a major role for them as they aim to make a run in the postseason.
Nut even Tyronn Lue had to admit he was surprised to see his team sign Russ for as cheap as they did, especially given his resume and experience as a 14-year NBA veteran.
“I was very surprised,” said Lue. “To get a caliber player like that, you know, for the minimum. It’s rare to see. It’s a fresh start for him it’s a fresh start for us, and we’re just excited to have him.”
Tyronn Lue says that he is "very" surprised that Clippers got Russell Westbrook
"To get a caliber player like that, you know, for the minimum. It's rare to see." pic.twitter.com/Ms7noGfShI
— Law Murray ❓ (@LawMurrayTheNU) February 23, 2023
The money is probably the biggest difference between Westbrook’s Lakers days and his Clippers tenure (however long it lasts). With the Purple and Gold, Westbrook’s enormous salary basically handicapped the team and limited their options for improvement in the summer and throughout the season.
Considering the Clippers signed him for free, there’s a lot less risk involved and a lot less pressure for things to work out right away.
Clippers Want Russ To Be Russ
Another key difference between the Clippers and Lakers is their depth. Off the bench with the Lakers, Russ really didn’t have a lot of offensive options and the burden often fell on him to score a quick bucket or create offense with limited spacing on the floor.
With a variety of wing scorers and shooters, the Clippers may have the deepest team in the league and they are hoping that Westbrook will tap into that and maximize everyone’s game.
“We want Russ to be Rus,” said coach Lue. “If he’s doing too much or not enough, I’ll let him know. We want him to be the MVP, the Hall of Famer that he is. We just gotta make sure it’s in the confines of our team… He’s excited, he just wants to win.”
This is a new chapter for Westbrook, and it could be his best chance yet to prove the haters wrong and deliver on a championship for the first time in his career.
Only time will tell how it all plays out, but the Clippers lost nothing by giving Westbrook a shot and it will be exciting to see how/if he helps them over the closing months of the season.
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