When the Los Angeles Clippers signed veteran guard Russell Westbrook off the buyout market late last season, he was expected to give them a big boost.
Although he is a flawed player who lacks caution, he is still a good player after over a decade in the league, and he helped give them a guard who can consistently attack and get others involved offensively.
Westbrook has been stigmatized as a player who kills team chemistry, but he reportedly organized a minicamp recently prior to the official start of training camp, and he gave each of his teammates a nice gift, per Andrew Greif via Legion Hoops.
Russell Westbrook organized a team minicamp in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago, per @AndrewGreif.
“Teammates who came were required to work out and dine together. At one dinner, [Russ] handed each a new iPhone 15 Pro Max.”
(https://t.co/zQlEi6Wnwt) pic.twitter.com/IZeF3g3Xrr
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 2, 2023
One criticism of Westbrook over the years has been his low shooting percentages, but in 21 games with the Clippers last season, he shot 48.9 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from 3-point range while averaging 15.8 points and 7.6 assists a game.
The team used to be the darlings of the national media as recently as last season, but after one postseason failure after another, not to mention repeated injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the hype surrounding them has died down.
Los Angeles still has championship aspirations, but there is now doubt outside the team that they can finally get the job done.
Westbrook has never won an NBA championship, and he will have to continue to play high-level, efficient ball to give himself and his squad a real shot at basketball’s ultimate prize.
The Western Conference will be much better than it was last season, and unless many things go right for the Clippers, they could find themselves losing in the first round of the playoffs again.
