The likes of Paul George and Russell Westbrook were both quizzed about the LA Clippers’ recent move to acquire James Harden. Harden’s controversial offseason with the Philadelphia 76ers came to a close with a trade to LA, alongside veteran PJ Tucker. Joining an offensively stacked team, the move has led to quite a few question marks over the kind of roles some other players might have to contend with due to his presence.
Advertisement
However, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, both seemed delighted with his presence. The two players were quizzed over playing alongside Harden in a recent press conference, shared on Twitter by Tomer Azarly. George called James Harden a proven superstar and claimed that both he and Tucker would benefit the team.
“Great additions. James [Harden] is a superstar, proven that. Another playmaker. Another scorer, leader, really happy to have him here,” George said, before talking about PJ Tucker.
He claimed that with the losses of Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, and Marcus Morris, they needed a player like Tucker to come in. “PJ is tough. Another guy I feel we need losing RoCo/Nico/Marcus,” George claimed.
Paul George on the Clippers adding James Harden and PJ Tucker:
“Great additions. James is a superstar, proven that. Another playmaker. Another scorer, leader, really happy to have him here. PJ is tough. Another guy I feel we need losing RoCo/Nico/Marcus.”pic.twitter.com/Ail3iwxlNz
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 2, 2023
The same kind of sentiments were shared by George’s teammate, Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has previously played alongside Harden both at the Houston Rockets and the OKC Thunder. Claiming to be excited with the move, Westbrook predicted that the process to integrate Harden should prove easy.
“It’s great. Looking forward to getting them onboard, accustomed to how we play, and it’d be exciting. Just another process to figure out and it should be easy one,” Westbrook said.
Russell Westbrook on adding James Harden and PJ Tucker:
“It’s great. Looking forward to getting them onboard, accustomed to how we play, and it’d be exciting. Just another process to figure out and it should be easy one.”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 2, 2023
Hence, while quite a few analysts have questioned how the new-look LA Clippers will function as a team, the players involved appear to be excited about integrating the new additions.
Russ thinks integrating James Harden will be a process for the Clippers
Harden’s move to the franchise certainly puts a question mark on the way the Clippers will play. Westbrook might be the one to come away with at least reduced time on the ball. Additionally, Harden’s recent history means that he might not even be seen as an automatic starter for the Clippers.
Patrick Beverley recently claimed on Twitter that benching Harden would surely lead to the coach’s sacking in response to Perkins’ claim that Harden might be better off coming off the bench.
Russell Westbrook answered some James Harden questions tonight, but didn’t like a couple.
“Give it a break, y’all. It’ll be a process. I don’t have the answer. I don’t know, I don’t predict the future… It’s not just gonna come together perfectly fine.”pic.twitter.com/qrYV402f9u
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 2, 2023
Westbrook, on the other hand, seemed to accept that integrating the 34-year-old will not be a straightforward task. Russ said that it was bound to be a process, and he was not sure if it would even end up working out.
The player said that there are going to be both good and bad games, and he and his teammates would have to find ways of making it click. While Westbrook had seemingly simply run out of patience, quite a few fans and analysts might end up agreeing with his take.
