Russell Westbrook has been far from the elite guard that he once was. Despite not being the MVP he was during his prime, Russ was a crucial piece for the Los Angeles Clippers. The team’s decision to trade him came as a surprise to many, including LA fans and the guard’s now-former teammates. Eddie Johnson was among the many analysts to comment on the deal, criticizing them for their questionable decision-making.
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The Clippers have been in the headlines during the ongoing offseason. Initially, the team lost Paul George when the latter signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Hence, retaining Westbrook became much more crucial for them, as per Johnson. The NBA legend wasn’t a huge fan of the LA side’s decision to let Russ go and he made his opinions extremely clear.
“I’m shocked that the Clippers got rid of Westbrook. You lose Paul George, the one thing you do need is somebody to be able to push Kawhi to be able to go into the lineup as he did a couple of years ago,” Johnson said.
The 1989 Sixth Man of the Year spoke about the positive takeaways from the trade–the Nuggets being the perfect team for the triple-double king.
“That energy that he provides, I think every team needs. Denver, they want that and he’s gonna give it to them. I think it’s a huge pick up for them… Westbrook is going to help them from an energy perspective. From a guy that’s gonna come in and be physical, knock people around… It’s the perfect team for him,” Johnson concluded.
Per reports, Russell Westbrook has been traded from the Clippers and will end up with the Denver Nuggets.@Jumpshot8 tells @TermineRadio he thinks Westbrook is going to be a great fit in Denver. pic.twitter.com/hELdtyiB2c
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 18, 2024
The Clippers parting ways with Westbrook seems to be a heartless decision. Merely a year ago, the former MVP took a massive cut in his pay and agreed to a two-year, $7.8 million deal.
Despite the team-friendly contract he agreed to, the Clippers didn’t even give Brodie another opportunity by allowing him to play for a second full season. Instead, they replaced him with Kris Dunn while also giving the Utah Jazz multiple other assets–a 2nd-round pick swap in 2030, draft rights to Balsa Koprivica, and cash considerations.
Terance Mann explains what the Clippers will miss the most about Westbrook
With the team filled with superstars such as James Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard, Westbrook was often the 4th or even the 5th scoring option during the 2023-2024 season. Hence, he found a different way to contribute and be beneficial to the Clippers.
He agreed to the demotion to the bench and would bring life to the team’s second-stringers with his infectious energy. Mann spoke along the same lines as Eddie Johnson when explaining how the Clippers would miss the former #4 overall pick’s “energy”.
“It’s gonna be a whole different team, whole different dynamic… You know what Russ brought to the team… Russ isn’t here to help me feed off the fans, I love doing that with him. That was one of my favorite things, just being able to make big time plays with Russ and getting the fans engaged,” Mann said.
Terance Mann said he’s sad he won’t have Russell Westbrook alongside him at Intuit Dome pic.twitter.com/Fjg8fmoFVJ
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) July 19, 2024
Westbrook was also a great locker-room presence, assuming the role of a mentor to youngsters such as Mann. It’ll be tough for the Clippers to handle the loss of a veteran, however, they would hope that the others on the roster, including the likes of Norman Powell, Nicholas Batum, and PJ Tucker can step up.
