Bye Russ Westbrook, hello Kris Dunn

Kelphus · Post #1 » by **Kelphus** » Thu Jul 18, 2024 10:26 pm

Per LA Times, Russ going to Jazz for Kris Dunn and a second round pick. Apparently Russ going to Denver after that is final.

Kelphus · Post #2 » by **Kelphus** » Thu Jul 18, 2024 10:30 pm

We got a lot more out of Russ than fLakers did. He always seemed to give max effort, and I appreciate his contribution.

esqtvd · Post #3 » by **esqtvd** » Fri Jul 19, 2024 2:40 am

Kelphus wrote:We got a lot more out of Russ than fLakers did. He always seemed to give max effort, and I appreciate his contribution.

I meant to post this on this thread. Since Russ is now an ex-Clipper and there's not much left to say, I'll park it here as well.

_______________________________________

I love Russ. Of all the Clippers in Clippers history he's the one I probably would most trust to get my back personally and professionally. The guy never quits, never whines, never alibis, never backstabs. And in his brief time with the Clippers--like so very few in our history--came to play every night.

PJ whined. Bones whined [but at least in private]. Russ got demoted to the point of humiliation and never a peep. I admire this guy totally.

But as a musician I have to admit that when somebody's the lead singer, lead guitarist, lead songwriter, and bandleader, there isn't a lot of room for the other guys to thrive. At least in the Beatles, John needed Paul and vice-versa, and George was at least the lead guitarist. [And Ringo was maybe the best drummer of his generation. True story.]

When you're averaging a triple-double, there's just not much space to grow or air left in the room. I don't think there are a ton of people lining up to play with Luka either. Neither one is selfish, but while they're being the best they can be, there's no area for you to be the best YOU can be. And when they're not being the best THEY can be, they're really not that great at making you the best YOU can be.

Anyway, this is kind of a Wammy Giveaway speech, but all I want to say is I love and respect Russ and wish him well. He leaves here even, and then some.

Roscoe Sheed · Post #4 » by **Roscoe Sheed** » Fri Jul 19, 2024 3:08 am

esqtvd wrote:
Kelphus wrote:We got a lot more out of Russ than fLakers did. He always seemed to give max effort, and I appreciate his contribution.

I meant to post this on this thread. Since Russ is now an ex-Clipper and there's not much left to say, I'll park it here as well.

_______________________________________

I love Russ. Of all the Clippers in Clippers history he's the one I probably would most trust to get my back personally and professionally. The guy never quits, never whines, never alibis, never backstabs. And in his brief time with the Clippers--like so very few in our history--came to play every night.

PJ whined. Bones whined [but at least in private]. Russ got demoted to the point of humiliation and never a peep. I admire this guy totally.

But as a musician I have to admit that when somebody's the lead singer, lead guitarist, lead songwriter, and bandleader, there isn't a lot of room for the other guys to thrive. At least in the Beatles, John needed Paul and vice-versa, and George was at least the lead guitarist. [And Ringo was maybe the best drummer of his generation. True story.]

When you're averaging a triple-double, there's just not much space to grow or air left in the room. I don't think there are a ton of people lining up to play with Luka either. Neither one is selfish, but while they're being the best they can be, there's no area for you to be the best YOU can be. And when they're not being the best THEY can be, they're really not that great at making you the best YOU can be.

Anyway, this is kind of a Wammy Giveaway speech, but all I want to say is I love and respect Russ and wish him well. He leaves here even, and then some.

Nice post- my opinion of Westbrook certainly changed when he was with the Clippers- I always viewed him as a frontrunning, arrogant guy- which perhaps he was earlier in his career with OKC. However, with the Clippers he showed solid leadership in bonding with teammates and leading by example in terms of maximum effort. It became clear though that they needed to move on from him after his disastrous playoff performance. At times he even seemed uncapable of making point blank lay ups.