I don’t care what anyone says the lakers did get better with the trade, since they were lacking depth. Even after the trade the lakers were still having the same issues they did when Westbrook played with the lakers.
6Charming
The trade definitely helped the Lakers during the regular season, but all three of those guys became unplayable during some point in the playoffs
chloroform42
/u/MITWestbrook should get attributed for inspiration
chloroform42
DLo won a bunch of games for them in ways that I doubt Russ would have done given the roster otherwise, even if he re-signed at a minimum somehow. So agreed with the sentiment that they wouldn’t have made the playoffs without the trade, though I think he could’ve helped them win in the playoffs if he played remotely like he did post trade
Dagenius1
Yes Russ was the problem. It wasn’t all his fault but it was a bad fit on both sides. This nonsense needs to end
SongYoungbae
Ngl. They definitely win a couple of games against the Nuggets if they would have kept Russ. Russ brought out the best in Rui on the Wizards and along with Reaves probably would have given them really good minutes when LeBron sat.
tkfire
Those young guys can still develop though. With Russ there’s not much of a future left. 1 maybe 2 more years.
IndividualHelpful820
Case were numbers lie. Without those lakers don’t make playoffs. Rus also wouldn’t have same numbers with lakers. With clipper injury he was primary person on the team so numbers tend to jump.
FuzzyPigg88
What a dumb hot take lmao 🤣
ToneDowneyAve
He wouldn’t be able to do that with the Lakers both our stars being healthy. PG was out and Kawhi only played a few games. Allowed him a lot more opportunities. He played well overall I was happy for him always been a fan of Russ.
Salty_Watermelon
There shouldn’t be any question about Westbrook’s talent/ability over those three. It was always more of a question about fit. I think it was a win-win in the end for the Lakers to move on from WB and for us to pick him up.
Keanerin000
lol deluded
jobeeeeeeem
Russ wasn’t really the problem but his fit. Russ need shooters around him and the Lakers didn’t have it. Lakers made the WCF from 2-10 and 0.3% chance of even making the playoffs. So the trade worked for both sides.
Goldenwarrior92
His fit wasn’t ideal, but the bigger issue was the size of his contract.
I-only-play-rubick
This is such a stupid take. They wouldn’t have made the playoffs if they didn’t make the trade. The roster of the lakers did not enable Russ to be effective. Both benefited from the trade.
djtuttle11
Pretty sure the Clippers problem is the fact your two star players are made out of glass. *Shaq crumples paper*.
es84
Those memes rarely take context into consideration. I am ecstatic with out Russ played for the Clippers, but he clearly didn’t fit the Lakers. The numbers tell a different story, but without that trade the Lakers probably don’t make the playoffs much less win a series, let alone multiple AND make the WCF. It’s not always about the raw stats. Russ’ 3/19 should’ve told everyone the box score doesn’t show everything that matters.
edillcolon
All these players had different purposes. Vando was there for defense. Mike was out of the playoff rotation, and Dlo played pretty well until the Nuggets series.
emploaf
I mean situationally they needed multiple role players more than a star player who’s best with the ball in their hands
Jackfitz88
They went from being what, 13th in the west, to the WCF trading him. Those role players weren’t thr problem, even tho dlo was horrible in the WCF, it was that Davis didn’t step up and be their best player. Relying on 38 LeBron to carry wasn’t gonna work and we all knew that. He wanted Davis because he thought he was be 1A to brons 1B. Davis was a no show. They should of played reaves more then dlo and let him run point.
PuroGahDammit
Shit take ngl
Withinmyrange
This is a such casual take lmao.
Does this account for level of teams played in playoffs? Usage rate for ball possessions? Defensive impact? Team fit?
No, no it doesn’t
Bubbatino
It’s called fit. Russ was miserable on the Lakers. Also kawhi and PG were hurt. Classic narrative spinning by the losers on the other side of town
UrDadsFave
One organization put their player in the position to thrive, the other didn’t.
Agent666-Omega
I had to to check the username
ColdNyQuiiL
Playoff statistics are irrelevant. The Lakers likely don’t even make it to the playoffs with Russ. They were so close to elimination before the trade it’s insane.
-DarkPassenger-
Glad to see all the rational fans on this sub not just agreeing with this take because Russ is a clipper. Russ is/was a good player. He just didn’t fit or compliment AD or Lebron and the lack of depth didn’t help.
Claudzilla
As a Laker fan, the comments on this sub are way more reasonable and unbiased than the laker subreddit. I was expecting mostly anti laker shit posting but y’all have my respect.
Nicobade
Russ was overhated on the Lakers but this isn’t a fair comparison, Russ had the ball the entire time after Kawhi got hurt, his stats are obviously gonna be way higher than a bunch of roleplayers who take a back-seat to LeBron and AD.
josuelaker2
One team made the WCF. Another didn’t.
Edit: not sure why Reddit decided to put this post on my feed, I’ve literally never been to this sub and I’m a 30+ year Lakers fan. I know it exists, but, yeah, didn’t ever feel the need or want to post here.
Cheers and hope everything works out. Don’t even hate the Clippers since ya’ll fired Doc.
MrPino777
Where the turnover at tho?
Banp2014
Yes? What Russ put on film for almost two seasons as a Laker definitely made him worthy of an exit. Russ shined because he always excels as the primary option but has a hard time playing second fiddle.
RobotFGC
He WAS the problem, him and his play style did not fit in over there, with how that team was constructed.
They got way better after the trade and all their personel moves. Everybody was calling it when he signed, he wasn’t a good fit.
Plus Kawhi and PG were out, Russ has the ball in his hands alot and playing a lot of minutes.
Some of y’all are being weird and not looking at the basketball aspect of this stuff, and just being emotional.
caseylk
If you look at basketball this way you’re really silly
spcjm123
Russ became one of their problems because he wasn’t used on how he supposed to play. They let Lebron to handle the plays leaving Russ to wait for the ball and to shoot it. Lakers just got better after the trade because they got the missing pieces like a wingman (Vando) and 3pt shooters (D’lo and Beasley). With Clips playing style, Russ finally got the rhythm he needed, not the iso plays that they do in Lakers.
damilalam
It was a horrible fit. Basketball is a team game and fit matters. Plus, he was not as good of a player as his contract. But at a significantly lower price tag, he is a solid contributor.
joker7117
Russ like the clippers played 5 playoff games and lost 4 of them. Keep talking
Aftermath16
An underrated reason they got better after the Russ trade was that they got Austin Reaves back from injury at almost the same exact time.
TheRealChipSkylark5
Russ was never the problem – it was the roster constructed around him. He just became a scapegoat
39 Comments
I don’t care what anyone says the lakers did get better with the trade, since they were lacking depth. Even after the trade the lakers were still having the same issues they did when Westbrook played with the lakers.
The trade definitely helped the Lakers during the regular season, but all three of those guys became unplayable during some point in the playoffs
/u/MITWestbrook should get attributed for inspiration
DLo won a bunch of games for them in ways that I doubt Russ would have done given the roster otherwise, even if he re-signed at a minimum somehow. So agreed with the sentiment that they wouldn’t have made the playoffs without the trade, though I think he could’ve helped them win in the playoffs if he played remotely like he did post trade
Yes Russ was the problem. It wasn’t all his fault but it was a bad fit on both sides. This nonsense needs to end
Ngl. They definitely win a couple of games against the Nuggets if they would have kept Russ. Russ brought out the best in Rui on the Wizards and along with Reaves probably would have given them really good minutes when LeBron sat.
Those young guys can still develop though. With Russ there’s not much of a future left. 1 maybe 2 more years.
Case were numbers lie. Without those lakers don’t make playoffs. Rus also wouldn’t have same numbers with lakers. With clipper injury he was primary person on the team so numbers tend to jump.
What a dumb hot take lmao 🤣
He wouldn’t be able to do that with the Lakers both our stars being healthy. PG was out and Kawhi only played a few games. Allowed him a lot more opportunities. He played well overall I was happy for him always been a fan of Russ.
There shouldn’t be any question about Westbrook’s talent/ability over those three. It was always more of a question about fit. I think it was a win-win in the end for the Lakers to move on from WB and for us to pick him up.
lol deluded
Russ wasn’t really the problem but his fit. Russ need shooters around him and the Lakers didn’t have it. Lakers made the WCF from 2-10 and 0.3% chance of even making the playoffs. So the trade worked for both sides.
His fit wasn’t ideal, but the bigger issue was the size of his contract.
This is such a stupid take. They wouldn’t have made the playoffs if they didn’t make the trade. The roster of the lakers did not enable Russ to be effective. Both benefited from the trade.
Pretty sure the Clippers problem is the fact your two star players are made out of glass. *Shaq crumples paper*.
Those memes rarely take context into consideration. I am ecstatic with out Russ played for the Clippers, but he clearly didn’t fit the Lakers. The numbers tell a different story, but without that trade the Lakers probably don’t make the playoffs much less win a series, let alone multiple AND make the WCF. It’s not always about the raw stats. Russ’ 3/19 should’ve told everyone the box score doesn’t show everything that matters.
All these players had different purposes. Vando was there for defense. Mike was out of the playoff rotation, and Dlo played pretty well until the Nuggets series.
I mean situationally they needed multiple role players more than a star player who’s best with the ball in their hands
They went from being what, 13th in the west, to the WCF trading him. Those role players weren’t thr problem, even tho dlo was horrible in the WCF, it was that Davis didn’t step up and be their best player. Relying on 38 LeBron to carry wasn’t gonna work and we all knew that. He wanted Davis because he thought he was be 1A to brons 1B. Davis was a no show. They should of played reaves more then dlo and let him run point.
Shit take ngl
This is a such casual take lmao.
Does this account for level of teams played in playoffs? Usage rate for ball possessions? Defensive impact? Team fit?
No, no it doesn’t
It’s called fit. Russ was miserable on the Lakers. Also kawhi and PG were hurt. Classic narrative spinning by the losers on the other side of town
One organization put their player in the position to thrive, the other didn’t.
I had to to check the username
Playoff statistics are irrelevant. The Lakers likely don’t even make it to the playoffs with Russ. They were so close to elimination before the trade it’s insane.
Glad to see all the rational fans on this sub not just agreeing with this take because Russ is a clipper. Russ is/was a good player. He just didn’t fit or compliment AD or Lebron and the lack of depth didn’t help.
As a Laker fan, the comments on this sub are way more reasonable and unbiased than the laker subreddit. I was expecting mostly anti laker shit posting but y’all have my respect.
Russ was overhated on the Lakers but this isn’t a fair comparison, Russ had the ball the entire time after Kawhi got hurt, his stats are obviously gonna be way higher than a bunch of roleplayers who take a back-seat to LeBron and AD.
One team made the WCF. Another didn’t.
Edit: not sure why Reddit decided to put this post on my feed, I’ve literally never been to this sub and I’m a 30+ year Lakers fan. I know it exists, but, yeah, didn’t ever feel the need or want to post here.
Cheers and hope everything works out. Don’t even hate the Clippers since ya’ll fired Doc.
Where the turnover at tho?
Yes? What Russ put on film for almost two seasons as a Laker definitely made him worthy of an exit. Russ shined because he always excels as the primary option but has a hard time playing second fiddle.
He WAS the problem, him and his play style did not fit in over there, with how that team was constructed.
They got way better after the trade and all their personel moves. Everybody was calling it when he signed, he wasn’t a good fit.
Plus Kawhi and PG were out, Russ has the ball in his hands alot and playing a lot of minutes.
Some of y’all are being weird and not looking at the basketball aspect of this stuff, and just being emotional.
If you look at basketball this way you’re really silly
Russ became one of their problems because he wasn’t used on how he supposed to play. They let Lebron to handle the plays leaving Russ to wait for the ball and to shoot it. Lakers just got better after the trade because they got the missing pieces like a wingman (Vando) and 3pt shooters (D’lo and Beasley). With Clips playing style, Russ finally got the rhythm he needed, not the iso plays that they do in Lakers.
It was a horrible fit. Basketball is a team game and fit matters. Plus, he was not as good of a player as his contract. But at a significantly lower price tag, he is a solid contributor.
Russ like the clippers played 5 playoff games and lost 4 of them. Keep talking
An underrated reason they got better after the Russ trade was that they got Austin Reaves back from injury at almost the same exact time.
Russ was never the problem – it was the roster constructed around him. He just became a scapegoat