Russell Westbrick Discussion: Clipper Gonna Clip

Get the ball to the people who are HOT dumba** even if they are undrafted rookies and it is crunch time …. because they shoot better than you and you don’t have to be a hero scoring the ball. Make the right play!! Play smart. It’s not rocket science, though reading those snippets it sounds like you don’t understand this still and may as well be.

 

I should clarify, Wall would still get minutes but because he is definitely rusty and hasn't played and coming of a major injury there wouldn't be the same obligation to play him in finishing or 4th quarter lineups or close to 40 minutes a night. You would also be able to rest him on back to backup,etc.

 

Once more... He dumb.

 

hasn't wall been complaining about not playing/starting in houston?

 

I mean he wants to play: I'm ok with that. I'm in the camp that Westbrook is a net negative that will worsen this team in ability to win critical games.
If you believe that and also consider him a negative trade asset due to his contract, you are left with little choice. I'd rather go with a player who will want minutes but you have a built in rationale and expectations that don't require him to play 30+ mpg a game plus crunch time.

 

https://theathletic.com/3070338/202...tar-isnt-letting-his-struggles-steal-his-joy/

Hollywood has its history of producing thespians, so maybe Russell Westbrook was merely acting as he took a slow walk down the tunnel of the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento late Wednesday night.

The Lakers star had just finished his latest unflattering shift at the office, a cold-as-ice night in a loss to the lowly Kings that inspired the brutally honest admission that he “can’t make a ****ing shot” of late, when he headed for the exits in the most curious of moods. All this scrutiny that surrounds him, with so many people wondering why the Lakers added the Why Not? guy last summer and rival teams recently revealing that there was some internal regret about the choice, yet here he was sporting the kind of smile that belied the mood of the moment and, for that matter, the all-black outfit he’d chosen to wear.

This kid from Compton Avenue who is now a 33-year-old man, the Triple Double King and future Hall of Famer who is struggling so mightily to find his way with the hometown team he’d always dreamed of joining, wants you to know the truth about why he’s still happy to be in Laker Land. And while some fans may not like the answer, especially considering the Lakers (21-21) look nothing like a title contender these days and Westbrook is widely seen as the primary reason why, his reasoning has absolutely nothing to do with basketball.

“Yeah, man, (he’s happy because) I get to see my kids, my family, my mom, my dad,” he told The Athletic while he headed for the team bus. “To me, that’s more important than anything else. I’m able to be home and be able to embrace them. They get to see me, and as they get older I get to see my kids every day and take them to school every morning. To me, that brings joy.”

The sequence of events that led to our conversation was quite unique. For starters, Westbrook had been surprisingly forthcoming, insightful and even humorous during his postgame news conference with the handful of reporters who were on hand. That’s not his chosen style in most most interview sessions, let alone one that took place during one of the worst stretches of his famed career.

The last time I’d taken part in one of these types of sessions, back when Westbrook was a minus-23 in his Lakers debut against Golden State at (then) Staples Center on Oct. 19, he brooded afterward in the kind of way that tends to make a room shrink. It was LeBron James, if you remember, imploring Westbrook to take solace in the fact that he could go home and hug his kids that night.

Truth be told, it was this prickly personal history that had even inspired a disagreement among reporters after the Kings game about whether it was worthwhile, or wise even, to request Westbrook’s participation in the latest media session. Yet next thing you know, from the formal press conference that was aired for all the world to see to a brief side discussion with reporters afterward to our chat in the hallway afterward, it was as if he was making a run at the Magic Johnson award that goes to the most media-friendly (high-profile) player every year. And if Westbrook was acting, this was an Oscar-worthy performance.

Narrator’s voice: He wasn’t acting.

“I swear, nobody can imagine it for me because everybody thinks about basketball as the end-all-be-all, but it’s really not, you know?” he continued. “Sportswriters, everybody’s got their own opinion. But I really believe that me being able to do (be in LA) and embrace my kids, it makes them — it puts a smile on my face regardless of what’s happening now.”

So while the Lakers may have had second thoughts about this pairing, in other words, he has not.

“No,” he said when asked if he had any regrets about the move. “Nah. I mean, not at all, because — like I told you — it’s bigger than basketball for me.”

The family component is clearly the saving grace for Westbrook’s spirit. Playing in LA means having his loved ones close by in this place where he rose to prominence at Leuzinger High and UCLA, and where he’s still holding out hope of a storybook finish in these next few months.

There are his parents, Russell and Shannon, his wife, Nina Westbrook, and their three young kids (older son Noah and twin daughters Jordyn and Skye). Take one glance at their latest Christmas picture — the one with the silly faces, the beautiful tree and blessings all around — and it’s easy to see that these claims of bliss and peacefulness are indeed very real.

But when it comes to the day job, Westbrook knows that there’s no running from the reality that his stature — and more specifically, his salary — has everything to do with the criticism that will continue to come his way unless the Lakers pull off a miraculous turnaround here. With annual earnings of $44,211,146 this season, he’s the league’s fourth-highest paid player behind Steph Curry, James Harden and John Wall. James ($41,180,544) is sixth and Davis is 15th ($35,631,360).

Enormous pay-days have always come with hefty expectations in pro sports, and so it is that the Lakers’ struggles have mostly fallen at his feet. After all, as the thinking goes for so many fans, James and Davis already showed they could win a title in 2020. Unless Westbrook can show that his presence takes them to a new level, then the wrath will most certainly continue. Yet by any measure, that has simply not been the case.

It was fair to assume that his individual production would decline because of the choice to join two other stars. Sure enough, Westbrook is averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists while playing more minutes than any other player in the league so far. But the Lakers’ net rating is better when he’s off the floor (plus-0.3) than on (minus-1.9), with the offense marginally better and the defense significantly worse. Davis’ recent absence has only compounded the problems, as the Lakers have lost seven of 12 games since he sprained his MCL.

To hear Westbrook and James tell it, there’s a human element that is proving quite problematic at the moment. They all agreed to sacrifice back in the summer, when Westbrook came to James’ house and discussed these sorts of things before the deal with Washington went down. But as is always the case in situations like these, those choices are always easier to stomach when they lead to success that everyone can enjoy. The losing, however, has a tendency to complicate matters on that front.

“We’re all trying to figure it out as a team, as a unit, to be able to say, ‘Ok, how can we figure this out?’” Westbrook said in our chat. “And I know I’m the one who has got to make the biggest sacrifice — and I understand that — so I’ve got to be able to figure out a way to be able to make the best out of it and make the best for this team and that’s it.”

Watch Westbrook closely on any given night, and you might see the frustration get the best of him. He’ll sit by himself on the bench while Lakers coach Frank Vogel gathers the team during a timeout, or camp out in the corner when the play doesn’t call for the ball to be in his hands. When asked recently about the way he has been used, he described it as “all over the place” and said “my job changes every night.” Hence the discomfort.

“Trying to figure it out,” he told me. “I mean, we still don’t have the answer. We done changed the way we play a couple times (laughs). Just for me, it’s trying to figure out the best way to be able to implement how I play the game with this team.”

But with the trade deadline nearing on Feb. 10, what if this team decided it was done playing with him? While a deal is widely believed to be extremely unlikely, in large part, because he has a player option worth $47 million for next season, the mere fact that there has been even the mildest chatter about the Lakers showing interest in trading Westbrook made me wonder how that might sit with him.

Even with all the bigger-than-basketball benefits that came with this latest relocation, and after this choice to push his way back home in August meant he would play for his fourth team in the last four seasons, might that kind of tumult steal one’s joy?

“I never worry,” he fired back. “Do the job. Be professional. Every year, my name is in trade (rumors). It never, never, never seeps into how I approach what I do. It’s kind of what I was mentioning back there (during the press conference). I see this game so different (in terms of) how to use it to be able to impact things.

“Regardless of if (a trade) did happen or if it didn’t happen, nothing’s going to change my mentality or my purpose. I feel like I have a purpose that’s bigger than basketball and I always keep that as my forefront regardless of what happens inside of pro sports.”

 

excellent. opt out and sign for the full 4-year MLE. you give up 7 million dollars but for so much joy, right?

pretty stark contradictions there. i'll make the big sacrifice, but pout pretty hard about it. that's...not sacrificing.

but seriously, just play defense. please. any defense.

 

Hold on. He is Russell Junior? Oh man...

 

Well, it’s nice that he’s so joyful while millions of Laker Faithful around the world are miserable watching his team perform most nights. Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

I know he's not liked at the moment, but his retort was pretty good


And that's the last time the Kings will be able to play it

 

Come on: does the NBA really need to step in here?

 

That would make a good game time speech....lol

 

I was a Russ supporter for awhile. I took the last few games and focused on watching him more than the game. Completely changed my mind on him. He does so many things wrong defensively, gets back cut, doesn't rotate well, overplays. On offense he pounds or holds the ball too long, bad or ill timed shots, not passing to open players that are on hot, staring at his hands in disbelief when he misses instead of going back to play d. The other teams give him any shot he wants because they know he will likely miss. His turnovers are down so there is that. These are obvious, there is much more if someone wanted to nitpick. He is not the reason for everything going bad but right now he is the main reason in my opinion. I hope he turns it around. He could if he just decided to play team ball. Would be as easy as that. To do so he will have to sacrifice some stats and ego.

 

He personally may not be THE reason. His 44 million dollars per year ARE.

 

I shudder on how many good players can be had for 44Million, obviously the Eagle, maybe Otto Porter, absorb Jerami Grant

 

And now there is this, we officially lost the trade

 

Russ sucks!

 

When 2k slaps you, it double hurts

RB facing his athletic mortality and needs to adjust quickly if we are to make a run