Los Angeles Clippers Showing Interest In Russell Westbrook
The Utah Jazz found themselves a part of a massive three-team deal on Wednesday when they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Los Angeles Lakers.
In this deal, the Jazz sent Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the Lakers and they also sent Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Minnesota Timberwolves. As well as acquiring Westbrook from the Lakers, Utah also received Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones.
Upon completion of this trade, Russell Westbrook is expected to be bought out of his contract by the Jazz, which would result in him becoming an unrestricted free agent to sign with any team in the league other than the Lakers.
The Chicago Bulls have been mentioned recently as a potential landing spot for Westbrook and now the Los Angeles Clippers are being linked to the nine time All-Star.
According to The Athletic's Law Murray, Russell Westbrook would have interest in joining the Clippers if he was to be bought out by the Utah Jazz and league sources that have spoken with Fastbreak on FanNation have also said that there is mutual interest from both the Clippers and Westbrook.
Westbrook's time with the Lakers was extremely rocky and his role was changed multiple times, but he has not had a bad season by any means.
In a total of 52 games this season, Westbrook has averaged 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 41.7 percent from the floor.
Should he be willing to continue accepting a lesser role and not be the No. 1 option on his team anymore, Russell Westbrook can still be an impactful player and his fit next to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard could make a lot of sense.
George has a prior relationship with Westbrook dating back to their time with the Oklahoma City Thunder several seasons ago and due to the fact that he is a great facilitator, Westbrook could fit in a lot better with the Clippers than he did with the Lakers due to the Clippers' shooting depth on the perimeter.
Murray also reports that the Miami Heat are a team to watch in regards to pursuing Westbrook should he be bought out by the Jazz.
Be sure to catch up on the newest episode of The Fast Break Podcast hosted by Fastbreak's own Brett Siegel!
Streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, The Fast Break Podcast takes you inside the league with the latest news, intel, rumors and interviews from those close to the action for all 30 teams. Be on the lookout for a new episodes every Friday.
