Russell Westbrook finally found a good home at the end of last season when he joined the Los Angeles Clippers. After losing his starting spot and being subject to frequent trade rumors with the Los Angeles Lakers to start the season, Westbrook was eventually dealt to the Utah Jazz at the deadline, and was immediately released. The veteran guard caught on with the Clippers, where he earned the starting spot and emerged as a surprise standout in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Westbrook may no longer be one of the league’s best players, but he proved he can still be productive in high-leverage games by averaging 23.6 points per game during LA’s first-round series against the Phoenix Suns. Is. When the playoffs ended, Westbrook had completed the five-year, $205 million deal he originally signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017 and entered the free agent market.
Westbrook enjoyed his time with the Clippers so much that he decided to re-sign with the Clippers – taking the largest pay cut in league history in the process. Westbrook and the Clippers agreed to a two-year, $7.9 million deal on Saturday. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, After earning nearly $47 million last season, Westbrook’s new deal is the biggest pay cut he has ever taken.
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Russell Westbrook’s salary will increase from $47 million last season to about $4 million this year.
It is easily the largest payout in NBA history, breaking the previous record held by Blake Griffin.
However, it is not as if Russ is getting upset over money. (Career earnings: $339 million).
— hoopshype (@hoopshype) 2 July 2023
overtook westbrook Blake Griffin took a $30 million pay cut few years back.
Could Westbrook have gotten more money with another team? it’s possible. Either way, the fit with the Clippers was better than anywhere else on several levels. Westbrook is definitely an LA native who attended UCLA for college. He added a needed element of speed and rim pressure to a sometimes stagnant Clippers offense, and gave him another high-use producer when Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were injured.
Will Westbrook’s former teammate James Harden join the Clippers before the start of next season? Harden requested a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers after picking up their $36.5 million player option, and LA is reportedly his preferred landing spot. Westbrook and Harden were teammates in both Oklahoma City and Houston.
Westbrook will play a big role on the Clippers next season whether he starts or not. At this price, maybe fans can start appreciating Westbrook’s strengths again while not paying as much attention to his weaknesses.