Russell Westbrick Discussion: Clipper Gonna Clip

One thing I do want to say positive about Russ though, he has always been a good team mate with a good attitude. And I’ve pushed back against those saying otherwise and I’m glad Penberthy, Reaves and his time in Houston confirm that.

 

Coach Ham's change of stance shows Russ has bought in so far, which is great. He seems to be having fun. Ham has gone from he will be starting if he plays defense to of course he is starting. That is a great sign for us. I think overall Russ is a good teammate and plays hard. However, last season he was not. He pouted, gave little effort on defense and pointed at others for his short comings. Hopefully that was an aberration but there just is no other way to describe his attitude last season as terrible. The situation was such he felt justified in doing so. If he can stay the Russ of old it might justify my bad judgment in wanting him here...lol. Also what is very important is if he keeps his good attitude it takes a lot of pressure off of coach Ham. He either had to not start Russ to back up all his talk or start him and lose credibility right away. Russ takes that pressure off him by playing hard. So a win for everyone. Coach Ham is smart. He rewarded Russ's good behavior after one day to reinforce it. Coaching 101.

 

He didn't said "of course he is starting". The reporter asked "IF Russ does what you want him to do, he's he a starter?". Naturally the answer was "of course"
It's a detail but even Trevor Lane picked it up and said the same thing without taking into consideration what the question was. It's just a small example how things get misinterpreted in today's society.

Notwithstanding, of course Russ is a key part of this team. He has a huge salary and the ceiling of this team relies a lot on him so it's Ham's job to build a system where he can at least not be a negative factor. However, it may not work well and I like the way we have approached it, especially on media day, putting it on Russ to prove he belongs to the starting lineup and rotation. That's very reassuring and the right way to approach it

 

I wasn't quoting him but that was the impression he gave to me. We all have our own interpretations. I grew up in the 70s so it is possible I misinterpreted today's society...lol. I still trust my own eyes and ears applying a little common sense to read between the lines. Coach Ham is playing this like a veteran. If Russ relapses then he might not start. In my mind, at least, he made it clear he intends to start Russ as of now. He kind of threw Russ a bone to keep him working. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with the decision as I am not there to see what transpires during practice. I do trust Ham's judgment till he does something to make me not. A lot can still happen between now and the first game.

 

Yes

 

i think "of course" was the appropriate response to the reporter's question. it affirms russ's stature while acknowledging the condition that the reporter put on the question, imo.

if asked the same question about lonnie walker, the answer wouldn't be "of course", right?

if asked whether russ was going to start, the answer also might not be "of course".

 

And now time for your monthly DD's "I was almost a Laker" media tour.

f***ing A!

I don't think he's lying, because of how steadfast he is in how certain it was going to be a thing. BUT I want to hear from someone in LA or SA how that was going to work. Odd that it hasn't leaked out. OR his agent is lying to him.

 

We woulda been hardcapped and Demar is a playoff choker. Wouldn't be a better situation cause at least Westbrook is expiring..

 

And Pop sure as hell was not going to do anything to help us acquire DD without screwing us over in some other way.

 

Interesting. Would Derozan be able to play with LBJ? He has a mid-range J so that at least helps. He's an awful defender so while we'd be better off with him than Russ, he wouldn't have put us over the top. I'm fine without having Derozan.

 

This is why I hate these internet " experts" How in the hell does that math work without overlooking the fact, that KCP, Kuz and Trezz,would have still been on the roster making over 35 million? What.. we could have just wished their contracts off our books?

 

i need to revisit all the assumptions. were we just trading kcp and kuz for derozan? where was harrell going? didn't he opt in? that's another 10 million towards the cap that's not showing up in the calculations.

i need to hear from the spurs side that a deal was in place and we knew what it was. what harm would it be to have that leaked now? hell, it would be torture for some laker fans, which they should enjoy.

 

I thought we asked Harrell to opt in so that we can make the Russ trade work. Something like that where he was doing us a favor.

 

do we know he was going to opt out? seems weird, right? he opted in to go to washington, just to do us a solid?


anyway, this isn't the first time this quinn guy has taken a decidedly "eff the stupid lakers" slant in a piece. i think it's sort of his thing.

 

obviously part of snt for DD, they're not listed on the tweet of who remains

 

The math is still the problem..Trezz made 9.7 million.