Can Russell Westbrook with the LA Clippers Actually Work?

It's easy to get wrapped up in the toxicity that was the Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook. That uncomfortable saga ended at the February 9 trade deadline with his exodus to the Utah Jazz.

Westbrook never fit with LeBron James, despite the duo and Anthony Davis sparking the idea of playing together while playing cards in the 2020 Orlando bubble. The year-and-a-half together didn't work, and Westbrook was the obvious scapegoat for the Lakers' travails.

Now Westbrook will return to Los Angeles as a Clipper—not that he actually ever left L.A. since the Jazz didn't require him to report for a physical in the deal. After an extended All-Star break, the veteran point guard gets to swap locker rooms at Crypto.com Arena, put on a different uniform and jump from 13th in the Western Conference to 4th.

So, what exactly will be different about Westbrook as a Clipper? Will he bring down the team, as oddsmakers might have you believe?

Westbrook may actually help the Clippers, a team already loaded with talent, with little downside.

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The Positives of Westbrook

Throughout the Kawhi Leonard/Paul George era, the Clippers have not had a high-level, true point guard. While Westbrook isn't a Chris Paul-like floor general, he's one of the NBA's all-time great playmakers. Throughout his 52 games with the Lakers this season, he averaged 7.5 assists in a career-low 28.7 minutes per game.

Westbrook plays hard all the time and rarely misses games. He's had a few injuries throughout his career but nothing excessive, and he doesn't lean toward load management. He shows up. He gives his all. That matters for a Clippers team that hasn't had great fortune with the availability of Leonard and George.

He should help speed up the Clippers' offense, currently 24th in the league in pace, per NBA.com. Westbrook was instrumental in helping to push the Lakers to No. 2 in pace.

Despite his struggles with the Lakers, Westbrook is generally well-liked by his teammates. More than one source has indicated that George was a significant lobbyist for Westbrook, helping to sway a skeptical Clippers front office.

The Clippers have significant depth, shooting and defensive talent—elements the Lakers lacked after giving up players like Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and, indirectly, Alex Caruso to get Westbrook. The Lakers spent too much of their budget ($47.1 million) on a player who didn't fit, hoping minimum players would be sufficient to replace what was lost in depth.

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The Negatives of Westbrook

Westbrook doesn't play particularly well without the ball. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue would take advantage of that by putting Ivica Zubac on Westbrook defensively—loosely speaking. Zubac would play free safety in the middle, protecting the basket while yielding the outside shot to Westbrook whenever he wanted it.

Other teams followed a similar strategy—the Boston Celtics did the same with Luke Kornet in an overtime win in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

On the season, Westbrook is shooting 29.6 percent from three-point range. He "spiked" to 31.5 percent through the 2020-21 season, but defenders do not respect Westbrook as an outside threat. His three-point percentage has been below 30.0 in five of six seasons since Westbrook's career-best mark of 34.3 percent from three in his MVP season in 2016-17 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The cons of Westbrook playing fast are that he's turnover-prone and tends to take questionable shots/make rash decisions in critical moments. That's been the give-and-take of Westbrook since he hit the league in 2008, including in 2016-17.

Asking several NBA sources around the league, the perception of L.A.'s addition of Westbrook is, at best, mixed, if not somewhat pessimistic.

One concern mentioned was that his flaws, which were so pronounced with the Lakers, aren't going to disappear on the Clippers. How is he different than John Wall, who is somewhat of a similar player and was recently dumped by the Clippers to the Houston Rockets in a trade?

Others suggest the minutes might be better served going to other guards on the team such as Norman Powell, Terance Mann and newcomers Eric Gordon and Bones Hyland.

One source questioned Westbrook's effectiveness defensively, saying, "One screen and Westbrook is lost. Good luck to Lue on that one."

Finally, Westbrook isn't an easy interview. He tends to come across as irritable and even unhelpful. That may have contributed to some of the negative perceptions—not all; the Lakers' experiment was a disaster, and Westbrook's fit was a big part of that—but a player's value shouldn't be measured by how friendly he is in a press conference.

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Better Yes Than No

Teams have always taken the good with the bad with Westbrook. The balance was out of whack with such a thin roster for the Lakers after their top three players. That's not a factor for the Clippers.

For better or for worse, an NBA front office aspires to keep its stars happy. Reuniting George with Westbrook is a positive if it's a positive for George. If the Lakers made a similar (but expensive) move to keep James happy in acquiring Westbrook, the Clippers would view him as a low-risk addition at a minimum salary. If he doesn't work out, the team can quickly move on by placing him on waivers.

The Clippers needed playmaking. Just because Wall wasn't a match doesn't mean Westbrook won't be. Over their respective careers, Westbrook has been a more productive player.

Lue, widely respected around the league as a coach strategically, will do his best to find combinations that work with Westbrook. As long as he has the authority (he does) to sit Westbrook when he's a poor playoff matchup for the Clippers—and Westbrook buys into a team-first concept, even if that means he isn't finishing games—then L.A. should be fine.

He may not put the Clippers over the top in the West, but he gives the franchise another weapon in an area of need, and the team was already a potential contender before his arrival.

Westbrook is not a perfect player, but he's a luxury who may help the Clippers do something special this postseason.