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RUSSELL Westbrook made some things clear on Saturday (Sunday Manila time). He will remain a fan of the Dallas Cowboys even though he now plays in Washington, he is not going to abandon his policy of not being friendly to opponents during games and he does not believe that a championship necessarily completes a player’s resume.
There is also a problem that he refused to clarify: whether or not he forced his exit from Houston.
“Obviously, I’m not the easiest guy to understand,” Westbrook said.
The Wizards clearly don’t care. Westbrook was in practice Saturday with the Wizards, the team that sent former No. 1 overall pick John Wall to Houston earlier in the week to acquire the nine-time All-Star who will now meet with Washington coach Scott Brooks. his former Oklahoma City Coach.
Washington becomes Westbrook’s third team in a year and a half: He was traded from Oklahoma City to Houston after the 2018-19 season, spent just one year with the Rockets, and now joins the Wizards to play alongside Bradley Beal. in what should be an extremely powerful backcourt.
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He was asked if he wanted a trade from Houston.
“I’m here in Washington,” Westbrook responded. “Happy where I am and understanding that this is a new journey for me and understanding how important it is to focus on where I am, focus on the team, focus on the organization, the community, the people here.”
That was obviously not a yes or no. For Westbrook, everything is now a part of the past.
The changes began to occur in Houston on the team’s first full day of the offseason in mid-September, after its Western Conference playoff stint ended. Before the team’s flight home from the bubble landed in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Mike D’Antoni informed the Rockets that he would not be returning as coach; became an assistant in Brooklyn with freshman coach Steve Nash. A month later, Daryl Morey left his position as general manager of the Rockets; ended up in charge of the main office in Philadelphia.
And about a month after that was when stories began to surface that Westbrook and James Harden, the league’s highest-scoring backcourt last season, scoring 62 points per game, were thinking of playing elsewhere. It seemed inevitable that at least one would end up being negotiated; That came true Wednesday when the Rockets and Wizards resumed their ongoing talks and finally ended up making a deal in just a couple of hours that afternoon.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize that, basketball, you’re only going to play a short period of time in your life,” Westbrook said. “But the relationships you get while playing the game, the people you meet along the way, the people you impact along the way, those last a lifetime. That’s something you think about. I’ve had to think about it like I do. “. I’ve grown old … there are so many great people here. “
Westbrook spent his first 11 NBA seasons in Oklahoma City, the first seven of which he played with Brooks, who will now coach him again in Washington. The Wizards used 23 players last season, only two of whom had been All-Stars; Beal is a two-time pick, as is Isaiah Thomas, who is not back with Washington this season. Westbrook is a nine-time All-Star, a two-time assists champion (Washington hasn’t had one of those since Rod Strickland in 1997-98) and a former MVP. Washington hasn’t had a player win the MVP since Wes Unseld in 1968-69, not just when the team was called the Bullets but when it was still in Baltimore.
The Wizards brought him in to be a winner. They also hired him to be a mentor.
“We have 13 guys in training camp right now who have only been in the league for three years or less,” said Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard. “We have nine guys 24 and under. We have to put some blocks around them, some railings to keep everyone together. … Peer coaches are quite effective and I think that’s something Russell will bring.”
It also brings an advantage. Westbrook insists his motivation on the court is solely about finding ways to win. He believes that he is often misunderstood, but he rarely goes out of his way to clear up those misconceptions. Off the court, he immerses himself in causes that have meaning to him and says that won’t change now that he’s in Washington.
“I’m trying to do things the right way, regardless of whether someone likes it or not,” Westbrook said. “My thing is to make sure I’m doing the right thing for the right people and impacting as many people as possible.”
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