‘Russell Westbrook is a solo star in a team sport’: Skip Bayless explains how Rockets can win title without Russ

With Westbrook having put in a trade request, Skip Bayless commented on the probability of him winning a championship of his career.

Westbrook has been in the league for 12 seasons now, through which he has 9 All Star Game appearances and 9 All-NBA selections. The man has had almost all kinds of success at individual level, but a championship keeps eluding him. His well-documented weakness at playing off the ball is part of the reason.

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While Harden and Westbrook set the record for highest points average by two teammates, there were glaring weaknesses in the Rockets’ roster last season. They came to the fore as they succumbed to another 2nd round exit – their 3rd in 4 years.

Skip Bayless believes Westbrook will never win a championship

Westbrook’s style of play rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Skip Bayless was one of the few who rooted for the Brody these past few years. But Bayless was only met with disappointment as he struggled to reproduce his dominant performances from the early 2010s.

Eventually, even Skip has been forced to concede that Westbrook’s style of play is the biggest impediment to him winning a title:

“I hate to say this because I have rooted for the last 3 years for a Russell Westbrook that I never loved with KD, but there is no way he is going to win a ring.”

I’m not even sure what Russ’ future in this league is right now because he has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s nothing but a solo star in a team sport. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 https://t.co/IyMtTMsSCt

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 12, 2020

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The Rockets will be looking for a way to minimize their cap hit and avoid the luxury tax this season. They managed to duck the tax last season through some neat gymnastics by Daryl Morey. But unless they trade Russ away, they are unlikely to stay under the luxury tax threshold.