NBA Exec Fears Clippers 'Much Less' After Russell Westbrook Signing

The Los Angeles Clippers are 0-3 with Russell Westbrook in the lineup, and one NBA executive likely doesn't see that as a coincidence.

"Actually, I fear them much less now," the executive said of the Clippers after signing Westbrook, per John Hollinger of The Athletic.

Hollinger pointed out "Westbrook's high-usage, low-efficiency, non-floor-spacing style seems almost perfectly suited to minimize Kawhi Leonard's and Paul George's effectiveness."

Westbrook is something of an enigma at this point of his career.

On the one hand, he is a future Hall of Famer with a resume that includes a league MVP, two scoring titles, nine All-NBA selections, nine All-Star nods and a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Someone like that should still be useful to a team's championship window, even at 34 years old.

Yet the athleticism and explosiveness that made him so dominant in his prime have waned as he ages, leading to turnovers and poor defense at times. What's more, he remains a lackluster three-point shooter and has connected on just 30.2 percent of his triples this season for the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.

That was a major problem with the Lakers, as defenses could clog driving lanes for LeBron James and double Anthony Davis in the post without concern of Westbrook hurting them from deep.

To the UCLA product's credit, he has hit 44.4 percent of his three-pointers in a small sample size for the Clippers. Perhaps there is hope he will be an important contributor who won't harm the impact of Leonard and George if he can maintain a solid enough rate from beyond the arc into the playoffs.

Still, the results haven't come on the court with three straight losses, and Los Angeles is now in sixth place in the crowded Western Conference playoff race.

The Clippers are just one game behind the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns but 2.5 games ahead of the 11th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, meaning there is plenty of variance regarding where they could end up in the playoff picture.

If they don't figure things out soon with Westbrook in the rotation, a deep playoff run may not be a realistic outcome.