Back in February, Russell Westbrook found himself without a team and was weighing his options on where to go next. Wherever he’d land, he’d be on a mission to prove to the world that he was still an all-time great point guard. He would go on to sign with the Clippers and the Westbrook of old was on full display during the postseason.
Aggressive drives to basket, vicious defense and crowd flexing when warranted were front and center in the last week with Westbrook leaving everything on the court. Now that the Clippers have been eliminated, he is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but the team doesn’t appear to want to let him go.
“We want to bring [sic] Russell back,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Thursday, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “It’s a great example of when you have a trust in your partnership. T-Lue, PG, Kawhi advocated strongly for Russ. He brings a great energy and spirit to the team around the building.”
Westbrook’s stint with the Lakers over the past one-and-a-half seasons didn’t work out, leading to him getting removed from the starting lineup and eventually traded to the Jazz as part of a blockbuster three-team deal in February. The Los Angeles native went on to sign with the Clippers after agreeing to a buyout with Utah and averaged 15.8 points, 7.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds while starting in all 21 of his appearances.
Then, with Paul George sidelined and Kawhi Leonard succumbing to yet another knee injury, Westbrook shouldered the superstar role for his new team and flourished. In the first-round series against the Suns, Westbrook averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 boards and 7.3 assists per game.
It wasn’t enough, though, and his team fell in five games. Westbrook has played for five different teams since 2019, so if the feeling is mutual, he may have finally found some consistency with the Clippers.
