"But what do you do? I don't know what you do" - 4x NBA champion chimes in on Russell Westbrook's contract situation going into next season
Russell Westbrook has had a hard time with the LA Lakers. In his only season with the franchise, the former league MVP put up his worst scoring average since his second NBA season.
Westbrook shot only 44.4% from the field and tallied the second-highest turnovers (295) for the season. He received a lot of the blame for the Lakers not even making it to the 2022 Play-in tournament. This despite playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Right from the time the Lakers hit their downward spiral, there was constant speculation that Westbrook's departure from the Lakers was imminent. More recently, the 9-time All-Star fuelled even more rumors about his exit by listing his Los Angeles home for sale.
Russell Westbrook just listed his Los Angeles home for $29.995 million, per @WSJRealEstate https://t.co/71zt8sntlN
There have been many reasons given for the Lakers' pairing with Westbrook being termed unsuccessful. Firstly, there were all the injuries to their star players, including James and Davis. Then there was the matter of Westbrook not being the right fit to play alongside James and Davis. It appears that his days with the Lakers are limited.
However, Draymond Green, a 4-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, recently spoke in support of the two-time scoring champion. Speaking in an interview, Green said:
"Who wouldn't ask for Russell Westbrook? You'll be out of your mind not to ask for him."
Green agreed that the decision to pair Westbrook with LeBron and Davis was not a good one. He remarked:
"It's a terrible fit. I one hundred percent think the fit is terrible. I don't think you can talk to Russell Westbrook right now, Russell Westbrook would think the fit is terrible."
But in the same breath, Green said:
"Nonetheless, just because the fit is terrible don't mean you don't go for it. Because guess what, if you go for it and it works, then you got a championship... If you can get Russell Westbrook, you get him and try to make that work because if it works, who is going to stop you?"
Draymond Green says it may be easier to move Russell Westbrook because of expiring contract
Given his emphatic support for Westbrook, Green was also asked about whether the LA Lakers should keep him for the upcoming season. Green replied, weighing in on Westbrook's contract:
"Well, he's on his expiring deal. So it's usually easier to move an expiring contract to like one of these teams that's trying to lose. And they just need to fill their cap space up because they're not trying to pay anybody.
"So it's always possible to move an expiring contract, which Russ will be on an expiring contract. But what do you do? I don't know what you do."