NBA Scout: James Harden, Russell Westbrook Can't Be on Floor Together with Clippers

James Harden is getting closer to making his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers, but the opinion of NBA scouts is decidedly mixed on how the 10-time All-Star fits on his new team.

One scout told The Athletic's Sam Amick bluntly that Harden and Russell Westbrook can't be on the floor together:

"The Clippers are letting Russ be Russ. The Lakers wanted to control him, but the Clippers are just like 'Be Russ.' So now if you're telling him to be Russ, what are you telling James to be? You can't have both of them on the floor at the same time. Like, you can't, because the other two guys—who are your most important pieces—aren't getting shots. So that's where we'll see how good Ty Lue is, right? He's gonna have to figure this thing out.

"What role has (Harden) accepted in this trade? He's been wanting to go to the Clippers, but has he said, 'Yeah, I see my role here and I'm happy with it?'"

A Harden-Westbrook pairing isn't anything new. Harden's first three seasons in the NBA were in Oklahoma City with Westbrook and Kevin Durant. More recently, the Houston Rockets acquired Westbrook from the Thunder for the 2019-20 season.

Their reunion in Houston didn't go well, leading to Westbrook requesting a trade and being dealt to the Washington Wizards in December 2020.

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Westbrook was "appalled" by the Rockets culture and "didn't tolerate tardiness" even though the team's scheduled departure times on road trips "were treated as mere suggestions by Harden and others."

Another scout Amick spoke with wondered if adding Harden elevates the Clippers' title chances because his skill set is redundant with what they already have:

"It seems like it adds more of what they have: scoring and ballhandling. What do they do with Norman Powell and Russ now? And it takes away all of their small-ball options, which is how they want to play. It will certainly lead to a lot of regular season wins, but the playoffs is a big question."

The scout did acknowledge Harden provides scoring insurance for the postseason if Kawhi Leonard or Paul George suffers an injury.

Another scout questioned if Harden fits on any team because he's "not the same player" he was at his peak and doesn't seem "willing to say, 'I'm going to be a distributor.'"

This will be the key to the entire experiment the Clippers are trying. Leonard and George need to be the primary options on the team. They are, by far, the best players and are capable of winning games on their own.

Westbrook has been able to fit in because he's adapted to their style. He's stopped trying to be the entire offense and is facilitating more to Leonard, George and the Clippers' shooters.

During his introductory press conference with the Clippers on Thursday, Harden blamed the Philadelphia 76ers' coaching staff for putting him "on a leash" and said he's "not a system player" because he is "a system."

The Clippers haven't officially announced when Harden will make his season debut, but Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium said it could come as soon as Monday against the New York Knicks.