The Los Angeles Clippers have once again been bitten by the injury bug in the Playoffs, leading to them losing in 5 games to the Phoenix Suns in the first round. Russell Westbrook was the Clips’ best player throughout all 5 games of the series given the fact that Kawhi Leonard did not play in any game past Game 3.
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Steve Ballmer made the ultimate sacrifice in the summer of 2019 when he decided to pair Paul George up with Kawhi Leonard to satisfy the latter. Fast-forward 4 years later and it hasn’t paid off in the slightest as they have made just one conference finals appearance since then.
With yet another disappointing outing in this year’s Playoffs, the Clippers have quite a few interesting decisions up ahead. Charles Barkley seems to know the first thing they need to check off their list this coming offseason.
Charles Barkley wants the Clippers to re-sign Russell Westbrook
Charles Barkley has always been a firm believer in Russell Westbrook. This series between the Clippers and the Suns reaffirmed his faith in the 2017 MVP as he said on ‘Inside the NBA’ that the first thing LA needed to do was to re-sign Westbrook.
Russell Westbrook was bought out of his previous contract by the Utah Jazz after he was traded to them. With the offseason approaching, it’s looking more likely that he will be signed to a team on the mid-level exception, with the max starting salary being around $10.5 million.
The most likely scenario is a 1+1 type contract for Westbrook, depending on how he plays going forward. The Clips’ trajectory may also change as, if Kawhi and PG cannot make another title run next year, it’s very obvious that the franchise will go into a rebuild.
Russell Westbrook wants to stay a Clipper
Russell Westbrook took to his postgame media availability following Game 5 to say that he would like to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers. He would go on to say that him getting traded from the Lakers led to him being in a better place, mentally.
Russ averaged 23.6 points, 7.4 assists, and 7.6 rebounds in the 5-game series, including a 37 point outing in Game 4. He would lead the Clippers in points, assists, rebounds, and blocks in the series.
