Westbrook suffered a hand fracture in a 140-115 win over the Washington Wizards on March 1. He underwent surgery the next day and was initially expected to four weeks. But it appears that the former NBA MVP recovered earlier than expected and could be back on the court as soon as Monday when the Clippers face the Indiana Pacers.

Westbrook has been one of the key bench contributors for the Clippers this season. In 58 games before the injury, he averaged 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while playing just 22.6 minutes per contest.

In 11 games without Westbrook, the Clippers have been playing hot and cold and went 6-5. They were also hit with a number of other injuries, with Norman Powell, another important bench player, currently being out with a lower leg issue.

After flirting with the No. 1 seed in the West earlier this season, the Clippers have now dropped to the fourth place in the standings. They are currently sitting at a 44-25 record with just 1.5 games in front of the fifth-placed New Orleans Pelicans.

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Following an unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Westbrook endured heavy criticism, with some even going as far as saying he doesn’t belong in the league anymore. However, after leaving the Lakers, Westbrook found his groove with the LA Clippers and is once again playing at a high level.

Speaking with reporters on Saturday, after his Phoenix Suns got a 112-100 win over Westbrook’s Clippers in Game 4 of the first-round series, Durant took issue with past criticism of Westbrook and praised him for being “resilient.”

“People going to always criticize when you’re successful and doing your thing for this long,” Durant said. “Russ has been resilient his whole life. He comes to work, and doesn’t say much. Just come hoop.”

Durant explained that people would only realize how good Westbrook was once he retires.

“When he retires, people are going to really tell the truth about his game,” he added. “Right now, the fun thing to do is to make a joke out of Russ. But the way he’s been playing since he got with the Clippers is showing everybody who he really is.”

Durant has been able to witness up close that Westbrook can still ball out. Despite playing without his co-stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who are out due to injuries, Westbrook has kept the Clippers competitive against a star-studded Phoenix Suns team. He has been averaging 26.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game while being a menace on the defense.

However, despite Wesbtrook’s best efforts, the Clippers find themselves on the brink of elimination. The Suns have a 3-1 lead in the series and will look to finish the job in Game 5 in Phoenix on Tuesday.

The post Kevin Durant Defends Ex-OKC Teammate Russell Westbrook After Suns’ Game 4 Win appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook stepped up to the challenge and carried the Clippers to a 141-132 road win by scoring season-high 36 points and adding 10 assists and four rebounds.

The former NBA MVP also moved up on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring list by the end of the night, surpassing Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson in the process. Westbrook is now 27th on the list, needing 135 more points to jump over Hall of Famer Ray Allen.

Since joining the Clippers as a free agent after the trade deadline, Westbrook assumed a less prominent role and mostly served as a facilitator. However, when the team needed him to be the main guy with Leonard and George out, the 34-year-old player was ready to step up.

“My mindset never changes. My role may change, but my mindset doesn’t,” said Westbrook after the game.

The win against the Grizzlies was an important one for the Clippers, allowing them to remain in the hunt for the home-court advantage in the playoffs. The LA team is currently fifth in the West with a 41-36 record but only trails the Phoenix Suns at No. 4 by half a game.

The post Clippers’ Russell Westbrook Scores 36 Against Grizzlies, Passes Allen Iverson on All-Time Scoring List appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook started the 2022-23 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers but ended up being traded to the Jazz ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

Westbrook joined the Lakers in the summer of 2021, looking to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in an attempt to compete for an NBA title. But the move turned out to be disastrous for all sides involved, as the Lakers underperformed in 2021-22, and Westbrook ended up shouldering the majority of the blame for the team’s bad performances.

Entering the 2022-23 season, Westbrook made the biggest adjustment of his career and moved to the bench in hopes of resolving some of the concerns surrounding his fit with James and Davis. But despite being productive in his new role, averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game, Westbrook was still shipped out to Jazz as the Lakers looked to create a more balanced roster.

The Jazz never intended to have Russell Westbrook suit up for them, giving the player permission to talk with other teams and see if there is a destination for him in case of the buyout. Westbrook considered the Washington Wizards and the Chicago Bulls, among other teams but eventually settled on the Clippers. By staying in LA, he will have a chance to be part of a championship contender while reuniting with his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Paul George.

Westbrook has nine All-Star nods and nine All-NBA honors since entering the league as a fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He averaged a triple-double in four of his 15 seasons as a pro and has the most triple-doubles in the history of the league.

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Shams Charania reports that the framework of the trade would see Westbrook heading to the Utah Jazz alongside the Lakers’ Top 4 protected pick in 2027. The Timberwolves are getting veteran guard Mike Conley Jr. and a second-rounder, while the Lakers will get Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.

For the Lakers, the deal was about turning Westbrook into multiple players that can contribute right away and are a better fit with their two best players, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They are definitely getting that in this deal, especially with Russell, who will bring badly-needed shooting to the team. It is a sort of homecoming for Russell, who started his career with the Lakers as the team’s second overall pick in 2015.

The Timberwolves, on the other hand, wanted to move Russell as they didn’t see him as a long-term part of their future. They are getting an experienced guard in Conley, who has a good relationship with their center Rudy Gobert and is well respected for the leadership he brings.

Finally, for Utah, it is all about collecting assets. They are not only receiving a highly-desirable Lakers’ pick that will come in the post-LeBron James era but also Westbrook’s mammoth expiring contract that will bring them the necessary salary cap reset during this rebuild.

Westbrook, who was demoted to the bench role by the Lakers this season, isn’t expected to suit up for the Jazz at any point. He will most likely get a buyout in the coming days and sign with either Miami Heat or the Los Angeles Clippers.

The post Lakers Trade Away Russell Westbrook, Get D’Angelo Russell in a 3-Team Trade appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook had 10 assists in a 104-121 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, which brought his career assists tally to 8,972. This allowed him to jump from No. 11 to No. 10, surpassing Seattle Supersonic’s legend Gary Payton (8,966).

“In the NBA, never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I’m next to some of the greats,” said Westbrook after the game. “I’m just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level, and I don’t take any of that for granted.”

Westbrook’s rise on the all-time assists list shouldn’t stop at no. 10. He needs 90 assists to surpass the Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas at No. 9 and could realistically get to the top 5 before he wraps up his storied career.

Russell Westbrook has been having a solid year in 2022/23, coming off the bench for the Lakers for the first time in his career. He is averaging 15.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists.

The post Russell Westbrook Enters the Top 10 of NBA’s All-Time Assists List appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Despite high hopes ahead of 2021-22, the Lakers fell flat and ended up missing the playoffs. Westbrook was singled out as the primary culprit for this, as many believed his style of play didn’t fit with James and Davis. As a result, the Lakers started exploring trade options for the former NBA MVP and almost pulled a trigger on one.

According to The Athletic, the Lakers were really close to dealing Westbrook to the Indiana Pacers this summer. Reportedly, the two teams were discussing a trade that would send the veteran point guard to the Pacers while the LA team would get guard Buddy Hield and center Myles Turner.

However, the issue here was the Lakers’ reluctance to include their first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 in the deal. On the other hand, the Pacers were only willing to make the trade if they got both picks. There were also talks about including a third team or making the trade under different conditions, but they didn’t go too far.

In the end, the Lakers brass decided that parting with their first-round picks was too steep of a price to pay just to get Westbrook out of town. They now hope the 33-year-old can bounce back under new head coach Darvin Ham and justify the decision to keep him around.

Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game last season. It was his lowest scoring output since his sophomore season in the league.

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Westbrook parted ways with his longtime agent Thad Foucher in mid-July. The former NBA MVP didn’t detail his decision, but Foucher did offer his version of the breakup.

According to a statement released by Foucher at the time, he and Westbrook disagreed on the “best pathway forward” and how the 33-year-old player’s 2022-23 season should play out. While Foucher didn’t say what Westbrook’s intentions are, he did say that his proposal was for the veteran to remain with the Lakers and accept the role that new head coach Darvin Ham has in mind for him.

Following a disastrous season with the Lakers in 2021-22, Westbrook has been frequently mentioned in trade talks this offseason. However, his $47 million annual salary is proving hard to move, and everything points out that he will remain in LA this upcoming season.

Schwartz has a number of high-profile clients in the NBA, with the most notable being the Denver Nuggets’ superstar Nikola Jokic. Earlier this year, Schwartz secured a five-year, $270M super maximum contract extension for Jokic, which currently stands as the richest contract in NBA.

The post Lakers’ Russell Westbrook Has a New Agent appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook is yet to make things official, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that his lawyer Thad Foucher filed paperwork on his behalf on Tuesday. This report comes shortly after Rob Pelinka, the Lakers general manager, addressed his future with the team during a recent post-draft press conference.

“I think Darvin [Ham] and I have had meetings with Russ and have just been honest about how we think he fits with his team, and what we expect of him next year if he decides to opt in and be here. He’s ready to embrace a philosophy of defense first as well, and he’s made that clear to Darvin and me,” said Pelinka.

Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in 78 games since joining the Lakers, and often received criticism for his poor play. This was one of the worst seasons for the nine-time NBA All-Star, who reportedly often clashed with the former head coach Frank Vogel and said “I was never given a fair chance to be who I needed to be to help this team.”

Russell Westbrook will exercise his $47.1M player option to return to the Lakers next season, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/SjIivou9mq

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 28, 2022

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In the Lakers’ season-opening 121-114 loss to the Golden State Warriors, Westbrook spent 35 minutes on the floor and just managed to score eight points. He also turned the ball over four times and made only four out of 14 shots he took.

While this caused many Lakers doubters to proclaim their experiment with Westbrook a failure, the team’s head coach Frank Vogel is a lot more optimistic. Speaking with reporters earlier this week, Vogel said that the 32-year-old’s poor debut for the franchise is on him.

“[Westbrook played] pretty good,” Vogel said. “We didn’t get him involved enough, and that’s on me. We continue to look at situations to make him useful and not pull away from what [Anthony Davis] and [LeBron James] are doing.”

Westbrook received support from his teammates as well, with Anthony Davis believing the 2017’s NBA MVP will bounce back in no time.

“He’s just got to be himself like I said before, and everything will work out for him,” Davis added.

Lakers acquired Westbrook in a blockbuster trade with Washington Wizards in early August. They gave up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma, as well as their first-round pick in 2021 to get him.

The post Frank Vogel Takes Blame for Russell Westbrook’s Poor Debut appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook suffered a hand fracture in a 140-115 win over the Washington Wizards on March 1. He underwent surgery the next day and was initially expected to four weeks. But it appears that the former NBA MVP recovered earlier than expected and could be back on the court as soon as Monday when the Clippers face the Indiana Pacers.

Westbrook has been one of the key bench contributors for the Clippers this season. In 58 games before the injury, he averaged 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while playing just 22.6 minutes per contest.

In 11 games without Westbrook, the Clippers have been playing hot and cold and went 6-5. They were also hit with a number of other injuries, with Norman Powell, another important bench player, currently being out with a lower leg issue.

After flirting with the No. 1 seed in the West earlier this season, the Clippers have now dropped to the fourth place in the standings. They are currently sitting at a 44-25 record with just 1.5 games in front of the fifth-placed New Orleans Pelicans.

The post Clippers’ Point Guard Russell Westbrook Expected to Return to Action Next Week appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Following an unsuccessful stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Westbrook endured heavy criticism, with some even going as far as saying he doesn’t belong in the league anymore. However, after leaving the Lakers, Westbrook found his groove with the LA Clippers and is once again playing at a high level.

Speaking with reporters on Saturday, after his Phoenix Suns got a 112-100 win over Westbrook’s Clippers in Game 4 of the first-round series, Durant took issue with past criticism of Westbrook and praised him for being “resilient.”

“People going to always criticize when you’re successful and doing your thing for this long,” Durant said. “Russ has been resilient his whole life. He comes to work, and doesn’t say much. Just come hoop.”

Durant explained that people would only realize how good Westbrook was once he retires.

“When he retires, people are going to really tell the truth about his game,” he added. “Right now, the fun thing to do is to make a joke out of Russ. But the way he’s been playing since he got with the Clippers is showing everybody who he really is.”

Durant has been able to witness up close that Westbrook can still ball out. Despite playing without his co-stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who are out due to injuries, Westbrook has kept the Clippers competitive against a star-studded Phoenix Suns team. He has been averaging 26.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game while being a menace on the defense.

However, despite Wesbtrook’s best efforts, the Clippers find themselves on the brink of elimination. The Suns have a 3-1 lead in the series and will look to finish the job in Game 5 in Phoenix on Tuesday.

The post Kevin Durant Defends Ex-OKC Teammate Russell Westbrook After Suns’ Game 4 Win appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook stepped up to the challenge and carried the Clippers to a 141-132 road win by scoring season-high 36 points and adding 10 assists and four rebounds.

The former NBA MVP also moved up on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring list by the end of the night, surpassing Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson in the process. Westbrook is now 27th on the list, needing 135 more points to jump over Hall of Famer Ray Allen.

Since joining the Clippers as a free agent after the trade deadline, Westbrook assumed a less prominent role and mostly served as a facilitator. However, when the team needed him to be the main guy with Leonard and George out, the 34-year-old player was ready to step up.

“My mindset never changes. My role may change, but my mindset doesn’t,” said Westbrook after the game.

The win against the Grizzlies was an important one for the Clippers, allowing them to remain in the hunt for the home-court advantage in the playoffs. The LA team is currently fifth in the West with a 41-36 record but only trails the Phoenix Suns at No. 4 by half a game.

The post Clippers’ Russell Westbrook Scores 36 Against Grizzlies, Passes Allen Iverson on All-Time Scoring List appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook started the 2022-23 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers but ended up being traded to the Jazz ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

Westbrook joined the Lakers in the summer of 2021, looking to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in an attempt to compete for an NBA title. But the move turned out to be disastrous for all sides involved, as the Lakers underperformed in 2021-22, and Westbrook ended up shouldering the majority of the blame for the team’s bad performances.

Entering the 2022-23 season, Westbrook made the biggest adjustment of his career and moved to the bench in hopes of resolving some of the concerns surrounding his fit with James and Davis. But despite being productive in his new role, averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game, Westbrook was still shipped out to Jazz as the Lakers looked to create a more balanced roster.

The Jazz never intended to have Russell Westbrook suit up for them, giving the player permission to talk with other teams and see if there is a destination for him in case of the buyout. Westbrook considered the Washington Wizards and the Chicago Bulls, among other teams but eventually settled on the Clippers. By staying in LA, he will have a chance to be part of a championship contender while reuniting with his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Paul George.

Westbrook has nine All-Star nods and nine All-NBA honors since entering the league as a fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He averaged a triple-double in four of his 15 seasons as a pro and has the most triple-doubles in the history of the league.

The post Russell Westbrook Plans to Sign With the Clippers appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Shams Charania reports that the framework of the trade would see Westbrook heading to the Utah Jazz alongside the Lakers’ Top 4 protected pick in 2027. The Timberwolves are getting veteran guard Mike Conley Jr. and a second-rounder, while the Lakers will get Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.

For the Lakers, the deal was about turning Westbrook into multiple players that can contribute right away and are a better fit with their two best players, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They are definitely getting that in this deal, especially with Russell, who will bring badly-needed shooting to the team. It is a sort of homecoming for Russell, who started his career with the Lakers as the team’s second overall pick in 2015.

The Timberwolves, on the other hand, wanted to move Russell as they didn’t see him as a long-term part of their future. They are getting an experienced guard in Conley, who has a good relationship with their center Rudy Gobert and is well respected for the leadership he brings.

Finally, for Utah, it is all about collecting assets. They are not only receiving a highly-desirable Lakers’ pick that will come in the post-LeBron James era but also Westbrook’s mammoth expiring contract that will bring them the necessary salary cap reset during this rebuild.

Westbrook, who was demoted to the bench role by the Lakers this season, isn’t expected to suit up for the Jazz at any point. He will most likely get a buyout in the coming days and sign with either Miami Heat or the Los Angeles Clippers.

The post Lakers Trade Away Russell Westbrook, Get D’Angelo Russell in a 3-Team Trade appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook had 10 assists in a 104-121 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night, which brought his career assists tally to 8,972. This allowed him to jump from No. 11 to No. 10, surpassing Seattle Supersonic’s legend Gary Payton (8,966).

“In the NBA, never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I’m next to some of the greats,” said Westbrook after the game. “I’m just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level, and I don’t take any of that for granted.”

Westbrook’s rise on the all-time assists list shouldn’t stop at no. 10. He needs 90 assists to surpass the Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas at No. 9 and could realistically get to the top 5 before he wraps up his storied career.

Russell Westbrook has been having a solid year in 2022/23, coming off the bench for the Lakers for the first time in his career. He is averaging 15.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.5 assists.

The post Russell Westbrook Enters the Top 10 of NBA’s All-Time Assists List appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Despite high hopes ahead of 2021-22, the Lakers fell flat and ended up missing the playoffs. Westbrook was singled out as the primary culprit for this, as many believed his style of play didn’t fit with James and Davis. As a result, the Lakers started exploring trade options for the former NBA MVP and almost pulled a trigger on one.

According to The Athletic, the Lakers were really close to dealing Westbrook to the Indiana Pacers this summer. Reportedly, the two teams were discussing a trade that would send the veteran point guard to the Pacers while the LA team would get guard Buddy Hield and center Myles Turner.

However, the issue here was the Lakers’ reluctance to include their first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 in the deal. On the other hand, the Pacers were only willing to make the trade if they got both picks. There were also talks about including a third team or making the trade under different conditions, but they didn’t go too far.

In the end, the Lakers brass decided that parting with their first-round picks was too steep of a price to pay just to get Westbrook out of town. They now hope the 33-year-old can bounce back under new head coach Darvin Ham and justify the decision to keep him around.

Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game last season. It was his lowest scoring output since his sophomore season in the league.

The post Lakers Almost Traded Russell Westbrook to the Pacers in the Summer appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook parted ways with his longtime agent Thad Foucher in mid-July. The former NBA MVP didn’t detail his decision, but Foucher did offer his version of the breakup.

According to a statement released by Foucher at the time, he and Westbrook disagreed on the “best pathway forward” and how the 33-year-old player’s 2022-23 season should play out. While Foucher didn’t say what Westbrook’s intentions are, he did say that his proposal was for the veteran to remain with the Lakers and accept the role that new head coach Darvin Ham has in mind for him.

Following a disastrous season with the Lakers in 2021-22, Westbrook has been frequently mentioned in trade talks this offseason. However, his $47 million annual salary is proving hard to move, and everything points out that he will remain in LA this upcoming season.

Schwartz has a number of high-profile clients in the NBA, with the most notable being the Denver Nuggets’ superstar Nikola Jokic. Earlier this year, Schwartz secured a five-year, $270M super maximum contract extension for Jokic, which currently stands as the richest contract in NBA.

The post Lakers’ Russell Westbrook Has a New Agent appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

Westbrook is yet to make things official, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that his lawyer Thad Foucher filed paperwork on his behalf on Tuesday. This report comes shortly after Rob Pelinka, the Lakers general manager, addressed his future with the team during a recent post-draft press conference.

“I think Darvin [Ham] and I have had meetings with Russ and have just been honest about how we think he fits with his team, and what we expect of him next year if he decides to opt in and be here. He’s ready to embrace a philosophy of defense first as well, and he’s made that clear to Darvin and me,” said Pelinka.

Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in 78 games since joining the Lakers, and often received criticism for his poor play. This was one of the worst seasons for the nine-time NBA All-Star, who reportedly often clashed with the former head coach Frank Vogel and said “I was never given a fair chance to be who I needed to be to help this team.”

Russell Westbrook will exercise his $47.1M player option to return to the Lakers next season, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/SjIivou9mq

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 28, 2022

The post Russell Westbrook Set to Exercise $47 Million Player Option with the Lakers appeared first on yoursportspot.com.

In the Lakers’ season-opening 121-114 loss to the Golden State Warriors, Westbrook spent 35 minutes on the floor and just managed to score eight points. He also turned the ball over four times and made only four out of 14 shots he took.

While this caused many Lakers doubters to proclaim their experiment with Westbrook a failure, the team’s head coach Frank Vogel is a lot more optimistic. Speaking with reporters earlier this week, Vogel said that the 32-year-old’s poor debut for the franchise is on him.

“[Westbrook played] pretty good,” Vogel said. “We didn’t get him involved enough, and that’s on me. We continue to look at situations to make him useful and not pull away from what [Anthony Davis] and [LeBron James] are doing.”

Westbrook received support from his teammates as well, with Anthony Davis believing the 2017’s NBA MVP will bounce back in no time.

“He’s just got to be himself like I said before, and everything will work out for him,” Davis added.

Lakers acquired Westbrook in a blockbuster trade with Washington Wizards in early August. They gave up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma, as well as their first-round pick in 2021 to get him.

The post Frank Vogel Takes Blame for Russell Westbrook’s Poor Debut appeared first on yoursportspot.com.