With a very likely buyout for Russell Westbrook, the former All-NBA player narrowed down his picks to four teams.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Russell Westbrook and his agent met with four teams to discuss a signing after a buyout – the Bulls, Clippers, Wizards and Heat. There’s a chance he won’t end up in one of those teams as Westbrook could choose to wait out his contract and move into free agency.
Russell Westbrook is not a rookie-level playmaker. It’s clear that Westbrook wants a starting role on any team he joins in free agency. At this stage of his career, Westbrook is a good player to have on the bench. He’s not good enough to be the sixth or seventh man on a team in the hunt for the championship.
What else can Russell Westbrook do for a title contender?
Although he could still contribute at an NBA level, he has declined in terms of talent. Fan hatred towards the player has reached unfair and disrespectful levels with the Lakers making it clear that Westbrook is an intriguing player for a championship contender if he gets 15-20 minutes a game.
With the Bulls, Westbrook would be the sixth or seventh man in the rotation and have a chance to play high minutes on a team that makes the play-ins (at best) and does nothing beyond that. The Wizards are in the same boat but he might have a small chance to start in place of Monte Morris in the rotation. Despite everything, Washington would qualify for the play-ins (at best) but would not go further than that.
The Heat are probably the most interesting place as Westbrook could be in the talk for some high-quality minutes while contributing to a team that has a chance of avoiding the play-ins and getting knocked down in the first round of the playoffs. . Still, the addition of Westbrook doesn’t make the Heat a title contender, or even a team that comes close.
The Clippers are probably the best option for Westbrook if he wants to win a title. While Westbrook would be at the back of the rotation in the playoffs and would only be used for the minutes when LA needs a traditional point guard, if he wants to win a title, going to a team with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard is his best option.
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